Pepco work at Old Georgetown and Del Ray (Photos)

A Pepco crew was working at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Del Ray Avenue last night, closing one inbound lane of Old Georgetown. There was no indication of a power outage at that location, so it may have been planned infrastructure work.

PEPCO PROBLEMS SHUT DOWN FAIRMONT AVENUE

A utility pole malfunction wreaked minor havoc on Fairmont Avenue last night.

Spectators gather after police shut down Fairmont Avenue

Yellow police tape blocks Fairmont, as authorities await arrival of
Pepco crew to fix transformer on pole at upper-left corner of photo

The first floor of popular bar BlackFinn was dark after a partial power outage occurred.  Bethesda Urban Partnership and Montgomery County Police officers arrived quickly to block off the area around two utility poles.  A Bethesda UP SUV was parked as a temporary roadblock, while officers rushed to rope off the street in front of Bold Bite, and the vacant Fresh Grill, with police tape.

Officers told approaching drivers and pedestrians they could not go down Fairmont.  Crowds began to gather, and BlackFinn employees assessed the situation from in front of their main entrance.

Speculation was cleared up when a Pepco truck arrived.  Police helped the truck enter the taped-off area, and a Pepco lineman rose into the air to a pole on the north side of Fairmont Avenue.

Apparently, that wasn't the problem.  Then he moved to the pole on the opposite side of the street.

Finally, the problem was diagnosed so repairs could be made.

Unfortunately, that required turning off power to the Foong Lin restaurant.

The Pepco employee explained to a Foong Lin staff member that he would need to turn off their power for about 10 minutes.  Now, that's actually reasonable in most circumstances, but as you can imagine, it's a nightmare for a restaurant.  Diners are dining in an AC-cooled dining room.  Meals are in the middle of being cooked.  Potential customers will go elsewhere if they walk up to a dark restaurant.

"Are you ready?" asked the Pepco worker.

"I'm ready, and I'm not ready," replied the Foong Lin gentleman, who then turned back into the restaurant and called out instructions to employees.  With the restaurant having taken exterior damage from the storm of two weeks ago, this was probably the last problem they wanted to deal with.  A tarp covers the portion of the sign that was torn off by an 80 MPH wind shear; the sign now reads, "Lin Restaurant."

With some irony, Foong Lin has been offering a special cocktail since reopening:  the Dark and Stormy.  I suggest you stop by and try one.

Pepco went into action, and soon power was restored.

Have you heard of Christmas in July?  This was Black Friday in July.  Friday the 13th.  Hmm...

2 MORE PHOTOS ADDED TO BETHESDA STORM GALLERY

Pepco crew and citizens in action last night - click here to view photo gallery!

FIRST PEPCO TRUCKS SPOTTED IN BETHESDA AS STORM POWER OUTAGES CONTINUE

HELP MAY BE ON THE WAY

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

I received this photo from a Bethesda resident who passed this long convoy of out-of-state utility trucks heading westbound on River Road after 5:00 PM.  A tree trimming Asplundh truck was in the convoy.

A convoy of utility trucks heads west on River Road
in Bethesda Sunday.

The convoy passes through a dark intersection where
many homes and businesses remain without power tonight.

Driving west on River Road (they are pictured here at River and Willard Avenue/Greenway Drive), they would be passing neighborhoods without power.  Neighborhoods off River Road I checked remained dark as of 10 PM tonight.  Most of the commercial area on River Road between Ridgefield Road and Little Falls Parkway (including Whole Foods and several gas stations) remained dark today.

Has anyone in Bethesda or Potomac along the River Road corridor had their power restored?  The trucks appeared headed in that direction.  Feel free to post a comment below regarding your neighborhood or building power status.

A second sign of Pepco at work was the restoration of power to the traffic signal at Arlington Road-Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda.  With a 5-way intersection, you can imagine what a nightmare that was for police and drivers alike.

Conflicting weather reports say no storms tonight, or storms between 12-3 AM!  Roll the dice, I guess, but take precautions and play it safe.

Stay tuned for updates on Twitter @BethesdaRow and stay cool!