High Winds Create Havoc
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High Winds Create Havoc

Alexandria police, fire and transportation and environmental services personnel were kept busy last Sunday responding to calls for assistance due to the high winds.

Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., police received 14 calls for trees or large limbs down; four calls for other hazards; 28 calls for security alarms going off, nearly twice as many calls as normal; and four calls concerning traffic lights being out.

The fire department responded to 10 calls for wires being down or for arcing. In addition, 27 tree-related incidents were reported to the city arborist.

THE WINDS, estimated upward of 30-40 mph at Reagan National Airport, caused trees to topple in the city. Two cars were damaged when a large tree fell on them on Kelly Court in the city’s West End. On Wythe Street a tree fell on the roof of a house.

“It was a very busy day for the staff,” said Barbara Gordon, the city’s public information officer. “We are very glad that no one was seriously injured by falling trees or limbs.”

<1b>—Carla Branch