More News

The first round of one of the biggest snow storms Montgomery County has ever seen darkened tens of thousands of county residents' homes and sent thousands of people into hotels and county-run shelters over the weekend in their quest for warmth and light.

As round two promised another deep blanket of snow for the region, many planned to extend their stays.

Pepco crews scrambled to restore power to the last of those affected by the weekend's storm, but as of Tuesday morning, there were still 9,000 to 10,000 Montgomery County residents without power, Pepco president Thomas Graham told the Montgomery County Council.

Although the last of those lights could spark back on, they could sputter right back off a few hours later due to the new storm's high winds, officials said. Graham estimated some residents could be without power until Friday.

"Tree limbs will come down onto the wires," Graham said. "They'll be taken down again. We'll have to rebuild again."

Pepco crews had been working 16-hour shifts since this weekend to restore customers to power, and they expected to continue working as the new storm reached its full height, said Pepco spokesman Bob Dobkin on Tuesday.

"We'll just have to deal with it as it comes," Dobkin said. "You cant' have people up in buckets when you're running winds over 35 miles an hour."

At the height of the storm Saturday, more than 80,000 residents across the county woke to no heat or electricity thanks to 1,000 power lines felled by snow and fallen trees.

Those affected included Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda, who spent one night in a hotel, and Council Vice President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring, who spent the weekend with Dist. 4 Councilwoman Nancy Navarro.

Dobkin said Pepco crews are on the heels of county plowers to reach freshly cleared streets.

Hotels in the area were working just as hard to create a home away from home for families displaced due to power outages.

About 400 extra guests dropped by the Hilton in downtown Silver Spring this weekend to find shelter from the storm, said general manager John O'Sullivan. The hotel is offering "snow" packages of $79 a night, he said.

"In situations like this, I think customers are more understanding than they normally can be. They're just happy to have heat, shelter and a place to lay down," O'Sullvian said.

At the Legacy Hotel on Rockville Pike, a small line of hotel patrons led into the lobby's tiny computer station Monday afternoon. At the reception desk, hotel staff checked in guests seeking solace from freezing homes.

"We've been booked to capacity the past three nights," said The Legacy's general manager, Mark Cohen. "Most guests are extending their stays."

The hotel's snowed-in staff also extended their stays over the weekend. By Monday, Cohen said the entire staff had been on duty for three days.

"We're limping a little bit," he said.

The Legacy is offering guest rooms for a "snow rate" of $69 per night, but don't plan on catching that deal anytime soon. Cohen said many guests aren't taking any chances, and all of the hotel's rooms were booked through Tuesday.

"I would anticipate this continuing for the next four or five days," he said.

Across the street, the Hilton-Washington D.C./Rockville was packed to capacity Saturday and Sunday evenings with county residents.

Hotel manager Michael Hirsch said his staff had been working multiple shifts. "We had staff stay overnight," Hirsch said.

Downtown Silver Spring hotels Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites were just as crammed over the weekend, with about 50 to 100 blizzard refugees a night stopping by, said general manager Joe Lumpp.

"There's three hours of, ‘Am I gonna get power or am I gonna go home?' They don't want to be here any more than they have to," Lumpp said.

-More storm photos, A-12

-Bosses mull safety, cost, A-15

-Volunteers feed snow crews

-Daily updates through the week