Dominion and Verizon to Discuss Derecho Storm Response at Town Hall

Dominion Virginia Power and Verizon representatives will discuss an overview of their response to the at Del. Kaye Kory’s (D-38th) on Thursday in Falls Church.

On June 30, Fairfax County’s , leaving millions of Fairfax County residents without a way to phone in storm-related emergencies. Residents were told to visit their nearest police or fire station to report all emergencies, a task made difficult for some who were blocked in their neighborhoods or homes by fallen trees and debris.

It took Verizon close to three hours to notify the county that 911 was down, according to the Washington Post. The outage was blamed on a Verizon "trunk line" in Arlington. The communication problem led the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova to to look into the cause of the failure.

Almost 2.5 million Dominion customers were affected by the derecho storm. Of those customers, . Dominion spent a week restoring power to Annandale residents and throughout the county.

The town hall will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23 at the Thomas Jefferson Library, located at 7415 Arlington Blvd. in Falls Church.

The public is invited to come prepared with questions or to listen and provide feedback to the representatives on how they can improve their service during the next major storm.