The high winds, reaching a peak gust of 62 mph at Jackson’s Reynolds Field Wednesday, played major havoc with the power, cable and internet.  As of 8:22 am today (Friday), Consumers Energy’s outage map continues to show significant interruptions to service not only at Clark Lake, but across the state.

outage 2017 03-10 820 amCE provides this update, released this morning (Friday).

“Consumers Energy employees, contractors and mutual assistance crews from six states worked steadily throughout the night to restore electric service to customers who lost power as a result of destructive wind storms that occurred earlier this week.

“The vast majority of customers without electric service should have power restored by midnight Saturday. In some of the hardest areas, including portions of Genesee, Kent and Kalamazoo counties, restoration work will continue into Sunday. As of 4 a.m., approximately 100,000 customers remained without power.

“This week’s long-lasting winds of up to 60 mph took down nearly 8,200 electric wires and broke more than 1,100 poles across Consumers Energy’s service territory, which includes all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

“From lineworkers to damage assessors, wire guards and customer service representatives, more than 2,000 people are engaged in electric restoration activities. An additional 181 crews from utilities in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana are assisting Consumers Energy crews in this effort.

“Customers can sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message, Text ‘REG’ to 232273 or visit: www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts. Customers can also, report an outage, check the status of an outage and get useful tips what to do before, during and after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.

“The public is urged to make these safety tips a top priority:

·         Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines. Call 911 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 to report.

·         Be alert to crews working along roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they safely can go past workers on roadsides.

·         Operating a generator may produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement or near any air intakes, and never fuel a generator when it is running.

·         Customers concerned about staying in their home during the colder temperatures are encouraged to call 2-1-1. Local emergency management officials are collecting information from 2-1-1 centers to help determine if warming centers need to be opened. 

To view specific counties and regions most affected by electric interruptions, please visit: https://www.consumersenergy.com/outagemap.

Wednesday’s high winds hit Clark Lake not under thunderous clouds, but under sunny skies, as you can see from this midday photo of the dam taken by Flip Reynolds.

FR 2017 03-08 high winds at dam ps

Late afternoon Thursday, there was a dusting of snow (Ann Swain photo).

AS 2017 03-09 snow
Bill Leutz’s survey of some cottages on Thursday along Eagle Point Road revealed a few shingles down and minor siding damage.  There were many smaller branches and sticks everywhere.  In this photo from Cara King, you can see how the wind affected some trees.  The King’s live on Eagle Point Road,  west end.

Cara high winds 2017 03-08 1
The power of the high winds created some unusual artifacts. In these two photos by Ann Swain, you see a branch pummeled into the ground.  In the next photo, the branch has been pulled out of the ground illustrating the depth of penetration. 

AS 2017 03-09 stick 1AS 2017 03-09 stick 2

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