Local News

One person was taken to the hospital after being hit near the 16000 block of Snow Creek Road in Penhook Sunday morning. According to the Franklin Co. Sheriff’s Office, a call reporting a possible hit-and-run came in at around 6:50 a.m. The driver was located shortly after but was not in custody as of this afternoon, according… ... Continue Reading

Situation (as of 10:50am) Heavy rain and gusty winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ian caused damage in parts of Appalachian Power’s Virginia service area late Friday night, which left more than 29,000 customers without electric service. Outages and Storm Response Efforts Around 6,500 customers affected by storm-related outages are currently without electric service. Damage assessors and… ... Continue Reading

On October 1, 2022 at approximately 5:00 a.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound in the 800 block of Ferdinand Avenue SW. Responding officers located an adult female victim with what appeared to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the… ... Continue Reading

Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department’s Emergency Services Division advises motorists to be aware of areas in Roanoke County that are subject to possible flooding. These areas are: Areas of Bottom Creek Crystal Creek and Merriman Garst Mill Road at the Roanoke City line Green Ridge and Woodhaven Masons Creek at Thompson Memorial and Catawba… ... Continue Reading

(update 11:42 am)

Situation

As expected, heavy rain and gusty winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ian caused damage in parts of Appalachian Power’s Virginia service area late Friday night, which left more than 29,000 customers without electric service.

Outages

Most outages are in the company’s Virginia service territory in areas east of Interstate 77. Counties most affected include Patrick (3,700 customers), Carroll (3,494), Bedford (2,659), Henry (2,248) and Botetourt (2,132).

Weather

The National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., expects the continuing rain could lead to flash flooding of streams and creeks, which could lead to additional outages or create difficulty accessing damaged areas.

Storm Response Efforts

Appalachian is implementing its plan to move crews from unaffected areas into areas where damage and outages occurred. Damage assessors and line workers from West Virginia are traveling to assist local crews with service restoration. Restoration estimates will be made available when the extent of damage is more completely assessed.

(update from ApCo 10:05) At the moment, we have 26,000 customers without power across our Virginia service territory. Of that number, about 2,500 are in Roanoke City and Roanoke County. A news release with updated numbers and info will be issued later this morning.

(previously) several thousand Appalachian Power customers are without power in the Roanoke area as of 9:50am today. Another 400-plus are also without power in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg area. We will update and advise on expected power reconnection as that information comes in. See a link to the ApCo power outage map below. Heavy, steady rain last night from the remnants of Hurricane Ian led to the outages.

ApCo power outages map

The post Rain from Ian leads to power outages in Roanoke and New River Valleys first appeared on News/Talk 960-AM & FM-107.3 WFIR. ... Continue Reading

We are sure to get plenty of rain at times from the remnants of Hurricane Ian, but what is less certain is which areas, if any, encounter flooding.  Meteorologists say the potential exists just about anywhere from small mountain valleys to larger river basins like the Roanoke, and it is important to remain alert for… ... Continue Reading

As our area braces for whatever Hurricane Ian might bring, FEMA is in place with officials saying they’re ready to respond as WFIR’s Ian Price reports. 9-30 FEMA WRAP The post Hurricane Ian response ready in Southwest VA first appeared on News/Talk 960-AM & FM-107.3 WFIR. ... Continue Reading

The Supreme Court of the United States will open for its next session on Monday. During a recent press availability, one of Virginia’s U.S. Senators said that Congress would not wait for the Court to revisit certain questions. WFIR’s Emma Thomas with more: 9-28 Kaine SCOTUS WRAP2-WEB The post Senator Kaine previews bill ahead of… ... Continue Reading