High winds today knocked out power in spots over a wide area around Charlottesville.

As many as 8000 residential customers were without power, including businessess and traffic signals. As of 3 p.m., it is estimated that 5,900 customers locally remained without power and power remained out all along Skyline Drive.

Especially hard hit because of the power distribution system were Forest Lakes, Four Seasons and Pantops. As of 3 p.m., traffic signals were out from Rio Road to Airport Drive.

Winds are expected to diminish by late afternoon. Once the winds have diminished, Dominon Power expects to be able to give reliable estimates for the restoration of power.

Note: "At least 46 sites and 13,000 customers in the Charlottesville region reported outages Wednesday, Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson said. Near Forest Lakes, 2,877 customers had no power as of 11 a.m. Along Rio Road - a huge expanse including Albemarle High School, offices and homes - 1,977 customers were in the dark.

.... Gusts from the storm reached 35 mph, with sustained winds of 20 mph recorded at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, said Jerry Stenger, research coordinator for the state climatology office. Hurricane Isabel’s gusts reached 46 mph." (Elizabeth Nelson, The Daily Progress, October 16, 2003)

Dominion customers can call (888) 667-3000. The automated answering system records calls and their locations.