Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA GARCIA AND MATT CHITTUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Glenda Wohlford, an Appalachian Power Co. administrative assistant, said a vehicle hit a power pole about 5:30 p.m., causing four power lines to fall across all four lanes of the highway. Traffic was halted until the lines could be moved.
Wohlford said Apco expected to restore power by late Monday.
Power also was out Monday from about 7 to 9 p.m. near U.S. 460 and University Mall in Christiansburg. Wohlford said lightning may have hit one of the power company's substations, causing about 1,000 customers to lose power. Christiansburg police reported that the traffic light at U.S. 460 and Virginia 114 also was out.
A storm hit hard and left quickly after about three-quarters of an inch of rain fell in an hour, the National Weather Service said.
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported that Cedar Run Road had been flooded.
About 7:45 p.m., lightning and high winds set utility poles on fire and knocked out power to customers of the Craig Botetourt Electric Co. from the Sinking Creek area of Craig County to Ironto in Montgomery County. A company spokeswoman didn't know how many customers were affected. She said several insulators had to be replaced, and power was back on just after 10 p.m.
by CNB