DANVILLE, Va. — Violent thunderstorms downed trees and caused widespread power outages in Danville Thursday afternoon.

Most of the damage was concentrated in the Westover Hills neighborhood, with dozens of trees split and uprooted by the storm. Two feeder lines are down and residents are without power in the area. A large oak tree toppled, blocking Charlotte Ave. at Wills St. A utility pole is also down on Woodlawn Ave. and two poles snapped on Westover Drive.

Trees toppled onto cars and homes but there were no immediate reports of injuries. At least four power poles were broken by the storm in Westover Hills. Most of the damage is concentrated in a quarter mile area between Charlotte Ave. and Woodlawn Baptist Church.

The Bridge Street substation also went down, affecting residents downtown and along Main and North Main Streets. It’s estimated that more than 1,600 Danville Utilities customers are without power in Westover Hills. Another 3,000 homes and businesses downtown and in North Danville are affected by the Bridge Street outage.

Crews will be working throughout the night to restore power. They are being assisted by Danville firefighters, who are going door-to-door in Westover to check on residents.

Motorists are advised to avoid Westover Drive as crews work to clear the downed trees and limbs.

The same area was hit by a tornado in April of 2018. (Photo: Leonard Harville)