Lake Monticello Residents Try to Clean Up After Storm

Driving around Lake Monticello, hundreds of trees are snapped at the base. Many more are leaning with the weight of the heavy snow.

"You can probably see almost every road has some trees down," said Lake Monticello Police Chief, Tom Boisvert. "We've had to respond overnight until early this morning for probably about 17, 18 hours.

Maintenance crews have been working since early Sunday morning to remove the trees from the road so cars can pass.

"Mostly pine trees," said Brent Roson, who was clearing trees with a chainsaw. "It's like big groups of them fell down from snow and ice. They're pretty much everywhere."

Lake Monticello resident Gilbert Dean is seeing damage in his front yard and all around the neighborhood.
"It's everywhere I've been," said Dean. "It's terrible."

Dean hasn't had power since Saturday morning. He's been relying on a kerosene heater to stay warm."
"It kept me warm and that's it," said Dean. "If I didn't have that it would be a rough time."

Many more are without power in Fluvanna. Some have turned to a shelter set up at the Lake Monticello club house.

"Last 24 hours there's been 40 individuals and lot of kids that have came in," said Shelley Murphy, from the Central Virginia Red Cross.

Even the shelter has lost power. They have been taking advantage of two gas fire places and the snow to keep their food cold.

"Everyone has been wondering what's going on on the outside per se," said Murphy. "We don't know if the power is on. We've heard various different things from people coming in."

Hoping the next they hear is they can finally go home.