APG storm damage clean up continues

By Yvonne Johnson, APG NewsJuly 5, 2012

APG storm damage clean up continues
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Damage cleanup from the fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms that rocked the Mid-Atlantic overnight Friday, June 29, continues on Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Crews from the Directorate of Public Works Operations and Maintenance Division were on the ground by 3:30 a.m. Saturday and worked through the weekend, according to Aberdeen Area Site Manager Ed Myers.

APG North (Aberdeen) was hit hardest, and Myers said most of the visible damage is downrange in areas very few people ever see. The storm offered up a rare occurrence, one not even experienced during last year's Hurricane Irene--a 100 percent power outage for a short time at APG North and South.

"Our main focus was the main areas on post, and the objective Saturday morning was to make the roadways passable," he said.

Fallen trees blocking roads was a major obstacle that required assigning personnel from road and ground crews to work with line repair crews.

Clean-up efforts continue on the main post and when those are completed, efforts will focus on the installation's secured areas. Myers said he anticipates completion by July 10.

Myers said APG crews are typically on call every day of the year.

"We have an on-call roster on a 24-hour basis," he said. "Even if it's a beautiful spring day, anything could happen. This is a normal procedure for DPW; we've just never had 100 percent total power failure. This was a major event that affected both areas and beyond because some of our power comes from off post."

Coordination with Baltimore Gas & Electric was essential to assess and repair the post-wide damages from heavy rains and winds.

Unlike with a hurricane, which tends to leave damage in concentrated areas, the storm's path of destruction was far more widespread, reaching across both areas, said Myers.

He noted that crews worked through high temperatures Saturday and Sunday with heat indexes well over 100 degrees.

"We cautioned them to use common sense and take breaks as needed," he said, "People often don't realize the folks out there working to get their power [and air conditioning] back on are hotter than they are."

"It was a major undertaking," he said.