A New Jersey store that specializes in full-length dresses and other clothes for women has expanded its reach into Tysons Corner Center.
Moda Natty opened a pop-up store next to Nordstrom on the mall’s first floor in early February, according to an Instagram announcement.
The store will only be around for a limited time, though, setting an end date of Nov. 30, a Tysons Corner Center spokesperson told FFXnow.
“Things have been going very well for them,” the spokesperson said.
Based in Clifton, New Jersey, Moda Natty advertises itself as the “biggest Turkish modest fashion boutique” in the U.S., with brands imported from Turkey and Europe, according to its website.
Intended to be modest and comfortable, the clothes on display include dresses, evening gowns, coats, tunics, skirts, athleticwear, and shawls that can be used as headscarves, reflecting the company’s focus on Muslim women as a target audience.
“Our recent market search shows that there is a high demand from our customers in Virginia to open a store so that they could reach our products more conveniently,” the company told FFXnow. “We also realized that there is a very high population that seeks modest clothing, so we opened up a store in Tysons Corner area.”
Moda Natty is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday to Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
In other Tysons Corner Center news, the stuffed animal store Squishable has returned with a pop-up near Seasons 52. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, though the website notes store hours are “subject to change.”
Hey, you 🫵, do you want store info? Well here you go! Our Tysons VA location is back in action! Here's some other updates too, like our Garden State Plaza and Woodfield Mall locations are up and running too! 🎉
🛍 More Store Info: https://t.co/VZwhMkvwSZ 🛍 pic.twitter.com/39AbTCHBtZ
— Squishable ◕‿◕ (@squishable) March 23, 2023
Squishable is located a couple of doors down from Candytopia, the traveling, sweets-happy exhibit that opened earlier this month and is slated to stick around until the end of May.
The mall will welcome another pop-up, The Dr. Seuss Experience, on April 7.
In its quest to minimize waste, the vertical farm housed in a shed behind Merrifield’s Luther Jackson Middle School will one day be sustained by fish feces.
Barely the length of a fingernail, the larval tilapia swimming around a small tank in the shed will soon grow large enough to be transferred into a bigger bucket with a filter that separates fish poop and other solids from water.
“The water goes back in the tank, of course, and then, the solids will go down through the filter system, and they will separate from the water and…be turned into sludge we use as fertilizer,” explained Vivian Nguyen, an eighth-grade student at Luther Jackson.
Thanks to Vivian and about 14 other students across four engineering classes, the farm is now operating and producing 50 bags of lettuce or spinach a month, all destined for the school’s food pantry.
It took two years of research, experimentation and waiting for equipment and permit approvals to get the farm to this stage — long enough that the eighth-grader who first conceived of the project has moved on to high school.
Driven by a desire to build a farm on Mars, the student began researching hydroponics — techniques for growing plants without soil — and other means of making food with limited resources for his Center for Equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, English and Math (ESTEEM) project, according to center director and technology education teacher Mark Smith.
The ESTEEM Center raises funds for STEM resources at the six elementary schools that feed into Luther Jackson. With many students in the Falls Church High School pyramid eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, the center is intended to support kids who otherwise might not have access to specialized STEM programs.
Other projects produced by the center include a solar measuring station installed in front of Luther Jackson.
“When you come to middle school and you join drama, you become part of that tribe, or music, that’s a tribe, but we’re trying to create that for STEM, and then we keep them together,” Smith said. “They go on to get advanced degrees and then they help save the world. That’s the whole mission.”
The students who designed, constructed and now maintain the vertical farm, also known as an aquaponics lab, likely aren’t thinking about saving the world just yet.
Vivian, for instance, joined the project at the behest of a friend who shares her interest in fish. She also wanted to get experience working with a team.
Vivienne Bao, a fellow eighth-grader who got involved earlier this semester, says she enjoys the hands-on experience, even if that means taking care of mundane tasks like cleaning up water leaks or picking beads from the filter system out of fish sludge.
“Everything is connected and one misstep can lead to major problems,” she said. “So, everybody needs to work together to solve it, and then we can be successful and grow vegetables.”
A traditional farm plot would require 450 times as much land, along with more time and water, to grow the amount of vegetables generated by the vertical farm, Smith says.
The first delivery to Luther Jackson’s food pantry is expected any day now, according to Jenna von Elling, the school PTA’s food pantry coordinator.
Organized by the PTA, the pantry opens its doors every Wednesday to about 70 families of students who experience food insecurity. It also provides backpacks of food for some students to take home.
Students in need are identified by the school’s social worker and family liaison. Other sources of food for the pantry include local grocery stores and community donors, like the nonprofit Food for Neighbors.
“Our goal is to provide a wide variety of shelf stable food as well as fresh, healthy food like produce, bread and milk,” von Elling said. “Mr. Smith’s Jackson-grown produce will be a welcome addition to our offerings. It’s wonderful that he is helping our students make connections between growing food and caring for their larger community.”
In addition to imparting critical scientific and engineering knowledge, Smith says the ESTEEM Center gives students agency over their own education, teaching them to build “things that don’t come with instructions.”
While all students design, research and write up a project in the school’s engineering newspaper, the biggest impediment to bringing more of their ideas to life is one painfully familiar to adult researchers as well: funding.
Instead of taking money out of the Fairfax County Public Schools budget, the center relies on corporate sponsorships. The vertical farm equipment and shed were purchased with grants from Northrop Grumman, Dominion Energy, and Micron.
Smith says he’s actively looking for more businesses to support his students’ projects.
“We’re always expanding, and we have 16 more ideas on this type of level that we could implement,” Smith said. “We’re just lacking the funds.”
Flags Lowered After Nashville School Shooting — “The U.S., state and county flags are lowered to half-staff today at all county government facilities as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 27 in Nashville, Tenn. The flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on March 31.” [Fairfax County/Twitter]
Longtime Vienna Inn Co-Owner Has Died — “Mollie Bass Abraham, who with her late husband owned and ran the Vienna Inn for four decades, died at her home in Alexandria on March 25. She was 96. The couple bought the former Freddie’s restaurant in Vienna in 1960 and renamed it the Vienna Inn.” [Gazette Leader]
Motorcyclist Injured in Springfield Crash — “A motorcyclist was seriously injured Sunday night in a crash on the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, according to the Fairfax County Police Department…By 9:30 p.m…police announced that the motorcyclist’s condition had improved and that he was no longer in a life-threatening condition.” [Patch]
Phase 2 of Lorton Community Center Project Underway — “Now the county’s project team will focus on completing the open park area, connecting the walking trail around the park and completing the vehicle parking area with additional lights and landscaping, according to a spokesperson from the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. The contractor’s work is expected to be complete by May 2023.” [On the MoVe]
Wendy’s in Annandale Undergoing Interior Renovation — “The Wendy’s at 7530 Little River Turnpike in Annandale is closed for indoor dining while the restaurant is being renovated. The pick-up window remains open…The project is expected to be completed in two or three months.” [Annandale Today]
Study: Virginia in Middle of Country for Covid Deaths — “The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, showed death rates varied dramatically by state, in analyzing the rates of COVID deaths in the U.S. between January 2020 and July 2022…Virginia ranked 20th, with 336 deaths per 100,000.” [WTOP]
Annandale Man Wins $1 Million in Lottery — “Man Nguyen of Annandale won $1 million in the Virginia Lottery’s Mega Millions drawing. ‘My wife’s birthday is coming up, and I’m thinking of buying her a new car,’ Nguyen told lottery officials.” [Annandale Today]
It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 58 and low of 41. Sunrise at 6:59 am and sunset at 7:30 pm. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County fared well overall in recently released rankings of the best places to live in America, but it couldn’t quite compete with neighboring Loudoun County.
Fairfax County was named the 25th best county to live in nationally and the third best in Virginia by Niche, an online data platform that reviews localities with the goal of helping families choose schools and neighborhoods.
“Fairfax County is one of the best places to live in Virginia,” Niche said in its profile of the county. “…Most residents own their homes. In Fairfax County there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many families and young professionals live in Fairfax County and residents tend to be liberal. The public schools in Fairfax County are highly rated.”
In the 2023 rankings published on March 20, Fairfax County trailed Loudoun, which placed at No. 12 in America and at No. 1 in Virginia, and York County (No. 15 nationally, No. 2 statewide).
The primary culprit in Fairfax County’s lower ranking appears to be housing, where it scored a “B” compared to the “A” given to Loudoun and “A-” for York.
Niche says the housing grade is calculated based on home values, property taxes, housing costs, local schools and more. Housing is among the most heavily weighted factors in the Best Counties to Live ranking, behind the percentage of residents with a higher education degree and the cost of living.
According to Niche, Fairfax County has a median home value of $569,100 and a median rent of $2,033 — about twice as high as the national averages of $244,900 and $1,163, respectively.
The county also trailed Loudoun when it came to jobs, getting a B- where its neighbor got an A. Those scores were based on employment rates, job and economic growth, and cost of living, where both counties earned C grades.
Fairfax County received marks of A or A+ for its public schools, health and fitness, diversity, family-friendly living, and outdoor activities. It got A- for nightlife, B- for weather and C+ for commute times and methods.
With its high grades for schools and health, Fairfax County snagged the top spot on the list for Healthiest Counties in Virginia and the No. 2 spot for Counties with the Best Public Schools in Virginia, behind York County. Nationally, it landed at No. 6 for health and No. 32 for schools.
Niche has named Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood of Philadelphia, as the best place to live in the country for four consecutive years.
Redevelopment proposals in the Merrifield area will likely get high-priority consideration by Fairfax County planners, as the county nears the finish line of its reconfigured site-specific plan amendment (SSPA) process.
After a nearly four-hour-long workshop on Thursday (March 23), the Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its support to staff’s recommendation that the pitches for Merrifield and an AT&T office site in Oakton be designated as “Tier 1” in the SSPA work program.
That means they would get top priority in terms of resources and scheduling. County staff are reviewing 68 Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan amendment nominations and have recommended about 50 for inclusion in the work program, which will be finalized by the Board of Supervisors on April 11.
The Merrifield proposals all replace older, mostly commercial properties with mixed-use housing, leading a couple of commissioners to warn against leaning too heavily on current market trends when determining what development to pursue.
“Things go in cycles, and we have to be attuned to how those cycles change, when they change and why they’re changing,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said. “Sometimes, we’re not very good at that.”
Community members who testified last week generally supported the Merrifield nominations, describing the area around the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station as ideal for housing that supports modes of travel other than private cars.
Prosperity Business Campus
The response to a proposed transformation of the 41-acre Prosperity Business Campus into seven blocks of mid-rise, multifamily residential buildings and townhouses was particularly enthusiastic.
Representatives of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) and YIMBYs of Northern Virginia said their groups ranked this nomination at the top when reviewing the SSPA submissions.
“The increase in parks actually reduces the impervious surfaces that are in this area as well, so it’s good for the environment,” YIMBYs member Aaron Wilkowitz said. “It’s good from the transit perspective, it’s good from the housing perspective. Across all the things that the county cares about, this proposal is critical to meeting those needs.”
The proposal adds an estimated 1,273 units of housing and 183,000 square feet of nonresidential uses, including some ground-floor retail. It also provides over 12 acres of publicly accessible park space, preserves the adjacent Long Branch stream valley and updates a pedestrian crossing over the stream.
Two residents of Dunn Loring Village, a townhouse complex west of the stream, said they’re “excited” about the potential project, though one advocated for better stormwater management in light of the recent I-66 widening.
The resident noted that Long Branch flows into Accotink Creek and, eventually, Lake Accotink, which is at risk of disappearing due to sediment build-up.
“Please consider…anything that can be done to reduce the impervious footprint, experimental ways to reduce that footprint,” he said.
Dunn Loring at Merrifield Station
Malkin Properties has proposed replacing the 35-acre garden apartment community at 8130 Prescott Drive with eight blocks of mixed-use development, including 2,300 residential units and up to 700,000 square feet of nonresidential uses.
Wilkowitz and some other supporters of the Prosperity redevelopment backed this one as well — with the caveat that it must deliver enough housing to compensate for the loss of the 706 existing apartments.
“This is an opportunity, since we are still very early in the process, to truly address concerns by working to ensure no net loss of affordable housing and providing current residents the right to return and relocation assistance,” CSG Northern Virginia Advocacy Manager Sonya Breehey said, encouraging the county to consider seeking more workforce dwelling units.
That push for as much housing as possible may clash with the desires of some existing area residents. A resident of Manhattan Place to the north said her neighborhood feels “the scale and density of what is being proposed is too large for the land that’s available.”
Vienna Crossing is “happy” the 1960s-era Dunn Loring at Merrifield apartments will get an upgrade, but the 54-townhome community is also worried about a planned two-lane “ring road” connecting Pleasantdale/Hartland Road and Park Tower Drive, the president of its homeowners’ association said.
“We’re the part on Gallows that it would ring through,” Ryan Watkins said. “…We have currently about seven to eight buses that stop there each morning, picking up kids for different schools, so traffic along that road cuts right through our community. We have concerns about that.”
Watkins also said the Providence Park Homeowners’ Association, which represents townhomes to the south, was wondering if the developer would consider acquiring an apartment building on the southeast corner of the property.
“It would be hard for them to ever redevelop because of their location, so they wanted to encourage the redevelopers to try to acquire that property or get them on board so they don’t get boxed in and that property goes downhill going forward,” Watkins said.
Antonio Calabrese, an attorney representing Malkin, said the developer has tried to contact the apartment building owner, but “they’ve been evasive.”
After three weeks of workshops on land use changes across the county, including at the Innovation Center Metro station and in McLean, the planning commission will take vote on its SSPA recommendations for the Board of Supervisors tomorrow night (Wednesday).
Fairfax County high school students will soon have access to free mental health services. Starting April 10, Hazel Health will provide students with weekly virtual therapy sessions at no cost to families.
The school system’s website says Hazel’s therapists can help students with mood or behavior changes, anxiety, social skills, bullying, family relationships, and academic stress.
In a statement to FFXNow, the school system said it included funds for telemental health services “to reduce access barriers for youth requiring mental health services beyond those provided by FCPS school-based mental health professionals.”
Last year, the Fairfax County Youth Survey showed that students were more depressed than at any other time in the past decade. The report also found that specific groups, such as female, Hispanic, and LGBTQ students, were more likely to experience depression.
The data mirrors a nationwide issue. Last year, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported poor mental health among teens and children nationwide, with the pandemic compounding existing challenges like poverty and bullying.
FCPS said it contracted Hazel following a competitive process that began last spring and that the company previously provided services to several large school divisions.
The school system allocated $500,000 in its current budget to hire the company, which was initially expected to launch a pilot program in January but got delayed, WTOP previously reported.
“Hazel is HIPAA and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)-compliant, and their services incorporate practices that encourage parent engagement and ensure student safety,” the school system said in its statement.
How to access services:
- Parents permit FCPS to share basic demographic information with Hazel
- Request mental health services by visiting the Hazel website
- Provide consent for Hazel Mental Health Services on the Hazel website
According to FCPS, the teletherapy will be available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Therapists will be locally-licensed clinicians; 50% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC); and 40% of whom are bilingual,” FCPS said in a newsletter earlier this month. “More than 15 languages are available.”
Hazel will help connect students to long-term care if needed after therapy sessions are completed.
Metro is retrofitting its new fare gates with taller doors intended to prevent fare evasion (via WMATA)
Saloon-style doors are coming to the Vienna Metro station’s fare gates.
The Orange Line terminus is one of nine stations in the first phase of Metro’s fare gate retrofits, which will install taller, glass doors on all of the transit agency’s recently modernized gates to deter people from jumping over to avoid paying to ride the rails.
The first phase will focus on stations with only one entrance and, therefore, fewer gates, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials told the Board of Directors on Thursday (March 23).
Other stations in the first phase include Court House and Pentagon City in Arlington; Federal Center Southwest, Congress Heights, Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten in D.C.; and Bethesda, Wheaton and Addison Road in Maryland.
“We have done some work to determine that the infrastructure needs to do the retrofits are minimal, a way for the team to learn and progress as they’re installing these retrofits,” WMATA Chief Planning and Performance Officer Tom Webster said.
Metro began testing doors aimed at preventing fare evasion last November at the Fort Totten station, including a design with “anti-vaulting arches” that proved ineffective.
The pilot launched before the agency had even finished outfitting all stations with their first updated fare gates since the 1990s, a process that lasted from 2021 to this past December. Though Metro estimated in 2019 that fare evasion was costing it $10 million, board members didn’t want gates that evoked cages like the ones in New York City, according to DCist.
However, reducing fare evasion has emerged as a top priority for WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke since he took over the job in July.
The new gates have sensors that register all users, regardless of whether they tap their SmarTrip card to pay, giving WMATA more accurate data on rail ridership, Webster said.
So far this year, Metro has seen about 22.3 million rail users, averaging 324,000 trips on weekdays, and the roughly 404,000 trips recorded on Wednesday (March 22) represent the system’s highest single-day ridership of the pandemic, Webster reported at the board meeting.
Metro’s new data indicates that approximately 13% of those total riders didn’t pay at the fare gate. While acknowledging that riders may not be paying for a variety of reasons, including college and D.C. students who can ride for free, the agency says fare evasion affects both its finances and its optics.
“Non-payment of fares reduces Metro’s revenue and ultimately impacts our budget, which can impact service for all customers,” Webster said. “There are also broader concerns with fare evasion in terms of a sense and perception of safety and security and this sense of disorder associated with fare-jumping.”
Metro is facing a $185 million budget shortfall that could widen to as much as $730 million next year, after the agency’s federal Covid relief funds run out. To close the gap for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1, Clarke has proposed a budget that increases fares by 5% on average, adding 50 cents to the current $6 maximum.
WMATA estimates the fare gate retrofits will cost $35 to $40 million — money that some argue would be better spent in other ways.
Call me crazy, but I would rather my tax dollars go towards letting people who can’t afford transit ride free than on imposing consequences on people who can’t afford to ride transit. This is a waste of money @wmata. https://t.co/oUoKKeQO5i
— Alison Horn (@AlisonHornDC) March 20, 2023
The proposed FY 2024 budget includes a program to cut train and bus fares in half for low-income riders — similar to what Fairfax County has done for Fairfax Connector. The plan also eliminates peak fares and aims to improve rail service times.
A Maryland representative on the board suggested Metro wait three to six months after the Fort Totten station fare gates are fully retrofitted — a process finished this weekend — before rolling out the new doors to other stations.
Clarke said the agency is committed to implementing the new doors system-wide, noting that purchase orders for the equipment have already been issued and the installations are underway.
“I wouldn’t label this as a pilot. I would look at this as this is what we’re doing moving forward,” he said.
Metro didn’t respond to FFXnow’s query about the Vienna station timeline, but the full rollout is expected to take about 15 months.
Why D.C. Area Could Smell North Carolina Wildfire — “Weather models indicate that low-level winds, around or below 2,500 feet, have been generally blowing from eastern North Carolina toward D.C., Maryland and Virginia at about 20 to 45 mph since early Monday morning. That probably was strong enough to transport the smoke into the D.C. area by about midday” [Capital Weather Gang]
Route 1 Widening Already Displacing Local Businesses — “Stubbs’ angst about his shrinking business is due to the expansion of a 3.1-mile section of Richmond Highway in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County, near Mount Vernon — a project that is already starting to displace businesses along the strip even though construction isn’t expected to start until 2027.” [DCist]
FCPS Considers Dress Code Changes — “Changes may be coming to Fairfax County Public Schools’ dress code, including one that would prohibit students from wearing pajamas or sleepwear to class…Students also wouldn’t be allowed to wear jackets with hoods up during class time or in the time in the hallways between classes.” [WTOP]
McLean Woman Convicted of Murder Faces 78 Years in Jail — “A Fairfax County jury recommended Monday that a 37-year-old McLean, Va., woman be sentenced to 78 years in prison for fatally shooting her two daughters in her apartment in 2018. Veronica Youngblood was convicted Wednesday of two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of her daughters” [The Washington Post]
FCPS Employee Joins School Board Race — “A longtime former Fairfax County Public Schools interpreter and family liaison employee announced Friday that she is running for the open Franconia District seat on the county school board. Marcia St. John-Cunning, who currently serves as the community school coordinator at Mt. Vernon Woods Elementary School…is hoping to succeed Tammy Derenak Kaufax, who announced in January that she would not seek re-election” [Patch]
Springfield House That FCPS Students Helped Build Hits Market — A single-family home in the Spring Village Estates at 7429 Foundation Way will hit the market Thursday (March 30) for $1.3 million. The house was built with the assistance of students in the Foundation for Applied Technical Education Inc., or FATE, a career education nonprofit. [Washington Business Journal]
Army Museum Working on New Event Space — “Construction is largely complete, and landscaping has begun on the National Museum of the U.S. Army’s new outdoor space known as Warriors’ Plaza and Field, according to the Army Historical Foundation…Warriors’ Plaza will include stones collected from the Pentagon after the 9/11 attack,” among other features. [On the MoVe]
Vienna Parking Lot to Close for a Day — “The parking lot right off Ayr Hill Avenue NE and directly across from the Train Depot will be closed for scheduled maintenance this Thursday, March 30.” The procedure is needed to ensure the lot can continue draining water. Vehicles parked there after dark tomorrow (Wednesday) night will be towed. [Town of Vienna, W&OD Trail/Twitter]
It’s Tuesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 56 and low of 44. Sunrise at 7:00 am and sunset at 7:29 pm. [Weather.gov]
Less than two years after overhauling its plan for the West Falls Church Metro station area in Idylwood to allow more development, Fairfax County needs to make a relatively limited but critical revision.
During its meeting last Tuesday (March 21), the Board of Supervisors authorized a study of an amendment to the comprehensive plan for the West Falls Church Transit Station Area (TSA) that would allow more office on Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road.
The amendment would also reduce the amount of institutional space proposed for the 7.5-acre property, reflecting changes to developer Rushmark Properties and the construction company HITT Contracting’s plan to expand the campus.
“The rezoning application by HITT Contracting and Rushmark Properties proposes a decrease in the planned institutional use by 120,000 square feet and an increase in general office use by approximately 62,000 square feet,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said in his motion asking the board to authorize the study.
Plans to redevelop Virginia Tech’s Idylwood campus have been percolating since 2018, when the university received an unsolicited bid from Rushmark. HITT got involved a year later, seeking to relocate its headquarters to the site.
That original pitch also called for a new academic building and a design and construction research center, along with an additional 250,000 square feet of office space, 500 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail.
However, Virginia Tech announced on Feb. 28, 2021 that it and HITT had agreed not to move forward with the project. Despite that termination, the proposed development was still incorporated into the new West Falls Church TSA plan approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 12, 2021.
The plan allows 1,720 dwelling units, 301,000 square feet of office use, 48,000 square feet of retail, and 160,000 square feet of institutional use across the TSA, including on the adjacent Metro station property.
Rushmark and HITT put forward a new redevelopment plan last fall that would replace the existing Northern Virginia Center with a 283,000-square-foot office building, up to 440 residential units, and a 2,000-square-foot retail pavilion.
The newly requested plan amendment will be considered at the same time as that rezoning application, which is scheduled for a public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on June 7.
According to Foust, the use changes won’t affect the 2.5 floor area ratio now allowed on the Virginia Tech site or the overall development limits for the TSA.
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Many D.C. area residents who have ventured outside today (Monday) have reported a smoky or burning smell from a wildfire unfolding in North Carolina.
The scent has been reported from D.C. to Arlington and into McLean. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that it has gotten calls from around the county, as previously reported by FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow.
The department confirmed that the smell is being carried over by winds from a large wildfire currently burning in North Carolina, citing the National Weather Service.
“A wind shift has caused smoke from the NC wildfires to migrate widely,” the FCFRD said. “Low wind speeds in our area prevent the odor and haze from dispersing.”
#FCFRD has been getting reports of a burning smell and haze throughout @fairfaxcounty. According to @NWS a wind shift has caused smoke from the NC wildfires to migrate widely. Low wind speeds in our area prevent the odor and haze from dispersing. @FairfaxCountyPD #weather pic.twitter.com/VW7t1xNxSo
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) March 27, 2023
Scanner traffic indicates that Fairfax County’s dispatch center received calls from numerous schools, prompting the fire department to send units to some locations until they realized that it appeared to be a countywide issue.
“We’re getting a lot of different calls throughout the county about a smoke smell,” a dispatcher said. “Not sure what’s going on yet, but just a head’s up, we’re getting calls from multiple schools on this.”
“I too smell a strong odor of either wood burning or something similar to that,” a school security contact said.
Fairfax County Public Schools issued a message recommending that any schools “experiencing burning odors” stay inside.
“Fairfax County is experiencing burning odors. Fairfax County fire department is aware. We recommend students and staff remain inside,” the school security announcement said.
One principal reported trying to get through the phone lines for 15 minutes.
“Right now, our phone lines are jammed,” FCPS school security said on the scanner at 1:12 p.m. “State, federal, local officials, meterologists and others are aware of this. It’s a wildfire from North Carolina. We recommend you bring kids inside from the schools due to underlying health conditions such as asthma.”
An FCPS spokesperson said students haven’t been told to shelter in place, but public safety officials recommended that students remain inside if smoke was detected.
“If smoke is detected in the air, it has been recommended to principals that they keep their students inside,” the spokesperson told FFXnow. “This is a school by school decision to be made by individual principals, however.”
@nbcwashington @ffxnow @ARLnowDOTcom
People are talking about the strange burnt smell across the DMV, any news on what this is???
— Steph Ger (@MrRednWhite) March 27, 2023
Terrible in McLean as well. Know there is a wildfire in NC near OBX. Wondering if it’s from that.
— Mean Streets of McLean (@MeanStreetsMcL) March 27, 2023
