(Updated at 12:03 p.m.) Intense rains inundated parts of Fairfax County last night (Thursday) as a storm damaged two gas station and caused alerts for a tornado that were later canceled.
Yesterday’s weather brought high speed winds of 35 mph and wind gusts as strong as 51 mph, the National Weather Service reported after the storm quickly swept through. Tysons and Centreville also saw possible tornado touchdowns.
Electrical Event Caused Chantilly House Fire — “Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started in the electrical panel box located in the basement. The cause of the fire was an electrical event involving wiring in the electrical panel box.” [FCFRD]
Sheriff’s Office Donates Ballistic Vests to Ukraine — “Due to the dire situation in Ukraine and the scarcity of body armor, the Sheriff’s Office and our Supply section, led by 2nd Lt. Kim, are proud to be able to donate 110 ballistic vests for the Lift Up Ukraine campaign. We hope our equipment will help protect the lives of Ukrainians as they defend their country from the Russian invasion.” [Fairfax County Sheriff Facebook]
Update at 9:15 p.m. — The earlier Tornado Warning, and one issued subsequently, have both been cancelled. It appears that a rotating storm — possibly a weak tornado — passed by Tysons Corner Center mall, according to video posted on social media. There are also reports of damage near the Tysons Corner Metro station.
Note that the video below contains strong language.
Fairfax County Public Schools can use its revamped admissions process to evaluate the next class of prospective Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students, a federal appeals court ruled today (Thursday).
The overhauled admissions process, which replaced a standardized test with an essay, a higher grade-point-average requirement, and other criteria, is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed against the county school board by the Coalition for TJ, a parent and community group that opposes the changes.
A plan to bring 144 townhomes to Westfields will head to the Fairfax County Planning Commission this spring.
The developer K. Hovanian at Gallery Park filed a rezoning application in mid-May of last year to move forward with the project, which it says “will introduce meaningful residential while defining the entrance into Westfields.”
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Fairfax County and surrounding areas this afternoon (Thursday).
The Wind Advisory warns of winds between 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph and is in effect until 8 p.m., while the Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 10 p.m.
(Updated April 1) Empty parking spaces have been common sights near Fairfax County’s five Virginia Railway Express stations over the last two years.
Like those of other transit agencies nationwide, the commuter railway service’s woes during the COVID-19 pandemic have been well-documented, but a new ad campaign airing this month and next is looking to regain riders.
The county’s plan to convert parking lots at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax is nearing fruition.
The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority will hold a public hearing tonight (Thursday) on its agreement with Lincoln Avenue Capital to build roughly 275 units at the parking lot, otherwise known as the Residences at Government Center II.
Recent drug overdoses by teenagers in the Richmond Highway corridor and emergency care statistics have led Fairfax County officials to intensify their efforts to address the opioid epidemic.
Hospitals and urgent care centers in the county have seen nonfatal overdoses rise in the last three years, from 232 to 324 and 354 as of last year. Most of the opiate cases involve fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that’s 80-100 times more powerful than morphine, while heroin cases are declining, the county health department told FFXnow.
Health Department Updates Covid Data — The county’s dashboard for COVID-19 data will report the 7-day average number of daily cases instead of the number of new cases, and two other metrics were added to the dashboard. The additions are the 7-day average number of daily new deaths, and the current community level, including the metrics that determine the level (hospitalizations, hospital capacity and cases within a community). [Fairfax County Government]
FBI Relaunches New HQ Search — “President Joe Biden’s administration made it clear that the federal government would be consolidating the FBI’s headquarters outside of D.C. in the General Services Administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request…The move has been in limbo for years. During then-President Barack Obama’s administration, the GSA had narrowed down potential locations to Greenbelt, Landover and Springfield.” [Bisnow]
