Office of Communications
MEDIA UPDATE
UPDATE: D.C. Government Open Tomorrow; DCPS Closed; School Bus Service Suspended; Some Cooling Centers Open Overnight
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The District of Columbia government will be open tomorrow, but D.C. Public Schools will remain closed as the District continues to respond to power outages that resulted from Friday night’s severe weather as well as the extreme heat that has followed.
Residents are encouraged to get the latest information on emergency response from www.hsema.dc.gov, www.dc.gov, and their Twitter and DC311 app accounts.
Some of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) facilities open as cooling centers will remain open overnight for residents who do not have power, DPR officials announced.
District officials encouraged workers to prepare for potential commuting delays tomorrow due to lingering problems from storm debris and downed power lines.
And Fire & Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) officials reminded residents of safety procedures to follow when using gas-powered generators.
Below is a round-up of the latest information from across the D.C. government in response to the storm:
D.C. GOVERNMENT OPEN; PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED; OSSE SCHOOL BUS SERVICE SUSPENDED
The District government will be open tomorrow, with the exception of D.C. Public Schools (DCPS). Students and staff assigned to summer school should not report. Moreover, DCPS schools will not be open for use by other community-based organizations (CBOs) or programs, including Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) participants, on July 2nd. DCPS administrative sites will remain open, and those employees should report work as usual. In addition, essential personnel should report to school as they normally do. Other school-based staff members (non-essential employees) are not required to report to school.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced that all OSSE school bus service is suspended tomorrow – including transportation of children enrolled in non-public placements and in other jurisdictions.
SOME COOLING CENTERS OPEN OVERNIGHT
Three of the six DPR facilities that have opened as cooling centers will remain open until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for residents who still do not have power:
· Ward 3 - Guy Mason Recreation Center
3600 Calvert Street NW
(202) 727-7736
Hours of operation: 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
· Ward 4 - Emery Recreation Center
5801 Georgia Avenue NW (202) 576-3211
Hours of operation: 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
· Ward 5 - North Michigan Park Recreation Center
1333 Emerson Street NE
Hours of operation: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.
· Ward 6 - Kennedy Recreation Center
1401 7th Street NW
(202) 671-4794
Hours of operation: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.
· Ward 7 - Benning Community Center
5100 Southern Avenue SE
(202) 341-6764
Hours of operation: 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
· Ward 8 - Southeast Tennis & Learning Center
701 Mississippi Avenue SE (202) 645-6242
Hours of operation: 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
MONDAY-MORNING COMMUTE
The District Department of Transportation is working to mitigate any negative effects of traffic-signal outages, storm debris or downed power lines on traffic before Monday morning’s rush hour. DDOT reports:
· Traffic signals on evacuation routes are powered.
· DDOT is working with PEPCO to ensure major roads are open by tomorrow morning's rush-hour period.
· Traffic-control personnel and stop signs have been deployed to intersections where signals are out.
Tips:
· Treat dark intersections as four-way stops.
· Stay away from downed wires. They could be energized and electrical contact could be fatal.
· Stay clear of broken and hanging tree branches, as they can fall at any time.
District residents are reminded to call 311 or go online at 311.dc.gov to report downed trees and branches in public space and to be prepared to provide specific details about the location. The service requests are immediately forwarded to DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA). Priority is given to street trees that have fallen on homes, cars and power lines, and trees that are blocking roadways; then UFA will shift its focus to storm clean up in alleys and other tree related storm debris.
To report a power outage please call Pepco at 877-PEPCO62. Customers may report outages online at pepco.com or download Pepco’s smart phone app, pepco.com/mobileapp, to report and track their outages.
District residents are reminded that trees and branches that fall on or from private property are the responsibility of the property owners.
GAS-POWERED GENERATOR SAFETY
Since there will be a number of District residents who may be without electricity for several days and may be using gas- powered generators, hospitals and providers should be aware of carbon-dioxide exposure risk during storm recovery due to improper use of generators and should screen patients as such with concerning symptoms for CO poisoning.
Families who use generators should know that:
· Generators must be placed outside away from windows and ventilation intakes.
· A generator should never be run inside a building or garage.
· People should not attempt to pour fuel into a generator while it is running.
· People should not store containers of fuel near working generators.
· Cars should never be left running in a garage.
· Symptoms of carbon-dioxide exposure may include; headache, dizziness, nausea- vomiting, fatigue of symptoms of flu –like illness without a fever.
