Storms, high winds rip through MoCo, endangering works on a scaffolding, downing trees, wires

More dangerous weather forecasted for Monday evening

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August 10, 2026 7:10 p.m.

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As severe thunderstorms rolled through the county Monday evening, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews responded to multiple weather-related calls including two workers stranded on scaffolding nine stories up in Gaithersburg.

Around 4:12 p.m. scaffolding on the Washingtonian Towers in Gaithersburg collapsed and became unsecured in the high winds. Two workers on the scaffolding about nine stories in the air were able were able to reach safety by breaking through a window of the tower, according to a social media post by David Pazos, Assistant Chief with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. The two workers were originally on the 15^th floor and lowered themselves down to the 9^th floor during the wind storm when the scaffolding started to fly around the corner of the building. The scaffolding at one time hit the side of the building breaking the window on the 15^th floor of the high rise.

MCFRS crews evaluated both workers, who were shaken but uninjured. They declined transportation to a hospital.

Meanwhile around 4:20 p.m., MCFRS crews responded to Maxim Lane in Rockville for a report of a tree that had fallen onto a home and trapped a resident, according to. When crews arrived, the man had freed himself from under the tree, which had fallen onto the home’s front porch.

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The man was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to MCFRS. The incident did not displace the home’s residents.

In Bethesda a tree fell into a home in the 5100 block of West Cedar Lane shortly before 4:30 p.m., causing an outlet fire in the basement. A family of two adults, one male and one female, were able to evacuate and sheltered inside their vehicle, according to MCFRS radio transmissions. The fire did not extend to other parts of the house according to Pazos and MCFRS radio transmissions.

The storms were also responsible for downed power lines with several reported in the Rockville area around 5 p.m.

“Residents can contact Montgomery County 311 to declare any tree that has fallen blocking any roadway. We encourage residents to not touch any down power lines, to treat it as live, and contact your utility company to advise them of downed power lines.” Pazos told Bethesda Today.

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The National Weather Service forecasts showers and thunderstorms will continue to be likely in the area before 11 p.m.

“We encourage all Montgomery County residents to seek shelter during the storms especially during the times with high wind because of the possibilities of having a tree come down or loose material within the road that becomes airborne,” Pazos said.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine