Community Corner

Pepco Prepares for Weekend's High Winds

The National Weather Service is reporting high winds in the area, so Pepco plans to increase workers this weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a High Wind Warning starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning that will expire at 9 p.m. in the evening. Northwest winds are expected to be between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts that could reach up to 60 mph. The strongest winds are expected between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

At 9 a.m., a Red Flag Warning will go into effect, with both warnings ending at 9 p.m. Saturday.

According to the NWS, a Red Flag Warning is issued when there is potential for explosive fire growth. In this case, it's the combination of the expected strong wind, humidity dropping between to between 15 and 25 percent and warmer temperatures that caused the concern.

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One easy but major thing that people can do to prepare—aside from having the essentials and an emergency kit—is to secure loose belongings on your property or bring them inside.

People should be cautious of downed trees and branches, and minimally have a flashlight, a fully charged cell phone and a radio on hand.

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Pepco is trying to prevent outages by upping their crews.

“Pepco is scheduling additional crews including contractors through the weekend,” said President, Pepco Region, Thomas Graham. “We continue to watch this wind event. Our crews will respond to any challenges that this storm presents.”

To report a power outage, please call 1-877-Pepco-62 (1-877-737-2662) and press “1,” to report a life threatening emergency situation such as a burning downed wire please call 1-877-Pepco-62 (1-877-737-2662) and press “2.”

Cydney Cappello contributed to this article.


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