We're getting a look at the havoc left by Friday's storm. On Monday, thousands are still without power and crews are still working to clear debris.
In Charlottesville and Albemarle County combined, more than 17,000 customers are still without power, leaving them to cope with the high heat. In the meantime, the Albemarle County Fire Chief Dan Eggleston is urging patience.
"Most of those roads that are closed still are probably closed because of a combination of trees and wires together, so it's going to take a joint effort between the power company and VDOT to clear those roads," Eggleston said.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Eggelston called the cleanup efforts "a long-term event." He says there's no telling when everyone will have power restored, and he is asking people in the community to come together to get through this.
Crews are continuing to work to clear storm damage from our area. The Peacock Hill neighborhood in Albemarle County was hit hard by the storm over the weekend. But one home in particular is so buried in trees cleanup crews need to use a crane and say it will take days just to break through.
Six large oak trees fell on a home on Deer Crest Heights Friday. Crews say at least one person was home at the time and had to be cut out of the house, but no one was injured.
Neighbors, like Mark Barber, are pitching in to clean up the entire area. Barber said, "A lot of this neighborhood, the areas where we got some of the trees down are community-owned and I'd rather not pay somebody else to come cut down the trees and clean it up so I'm out cutting what I can and helping the community out."
Barber says he has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years and has never seen a storm do so much damage.
Meanwhile, the entire neighborhood is still without power and they have no indication of when it will be restored.
The power's not coming back on for other parts of Albemarle County until Saturday night. The Scottsville area in particular has taken a beating.
Residents are tired and hot, dealing with the dangerous heat and trying to find water. "We are completely without anything," said Judy Brouchu, who lives in Esmont.
It's the same story everywhere you go in Scottsville. Nancy Bruce, who lives in Scottsville, said, "100 degree heat in the day time, it's not very comfortable at night."
The area was left powerless in the wake of Friday's storm, with massive trees toppled, power lines down, and Appalachian Power telling 2,400 customers the lights won't be back on until Saturday night.
"It's been a challenge," Brouchu said. "But I'm an old country girl so I know how to survive a little bit."
Some relief arrived Monday. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management delivered 34 pallets of bottled water to the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department, with a steady stream of people collecting the two cases allotted per person.
Dawn Sprouse, who was giving out water, said, "They're very thankful. Not only this, but we do have a hose up there that we're filling buckets."
The only grocery store in town - Food Lion - is now up and running, after the generator came in Sunday night.
The store lost just about all its perishable items. Empty shelves are quickly being restocked.
Food Lion Director of Operations Demetrius Walker said, "Even though we don't have all of our products in stock, we want to be here to service our community."
The lack of a generator isn't keeping ACE Hardware closed. Customers are shopping by flashlight to get chainsaws, batteries and gas cans.
"We get the cashbox out and starting writing down the prices," said ACE Hardware Owner George Hooper.
In Scottsville, Victory Hall has been opened as a cooling center. They're showing movies and giving out water.
The storm damage is also forcing Crozet to completely cancel its Fourth of July celebrations for the year.
Fire chief Preston Gentry says it's too risky to have people at Claudius Crozet Park because it sustained a significant amount of damage during Friday's storm.
The cancellation is impacting plans to establish a historic district in downtown Crozet.
The Fourth of July celebrations were supposed to be the largest fundraiser for the Downtown Crozet Association.
In the Shenandoah Valley, crews are restoring power and cleaning up debris. Traffic lights in Staunton are still out of commission, and several streets remain blocked by fallen trees and branches.
About 10,700 Dominion customers are still without power in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County. Emergency coordinators say rebuilding the damaged grid takes time and help from the outside.
Waynesboro Emergency Operations Center Director Gary Critzer said, "The tree contractors get the trees off first before they can actually get in and repair the lines and get the transformers, etc. back up and running. So it's going to be a long arduous process."
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative has another 1,400 customers without power in Augusta County. People without electricity and air conditioning can still visit seven different cooling centers. Click here for more information.
