UNDATED (WKZO-AM/FM) — Sunny skies but windy conditions have left tens of thousands without power in southwest Michigan tonight and some may not get it back until Sunday or Monday at the earliest.
Strong sustained winds of over 50 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph blacked out 290,000 Consumers Energy customers at the peak, and winds have died down.
That should help repair crews.
Check out the Consumers Energy site.
Eight thousand homes and businesses in Barry County, about one in three have no electricity today. The latest numbers from the utilities, there are 10,000 blacked out in Calhoun County, 11,400 in Kalamazoo County and between Consumers and I&M there are reports of as many as 7,000 in Van Buren County without power.
Terry Dedoes with Consumers said this doesn’t beat their record for outages, but its right up there.
There are a number of homes and vehicles damaged by fallen trees and reports of other damage but no reports of injury.
Traffic lights are out and should be treated as four way stops. Avoid downed lines, you can never tell if they are charged or not, and they can kill you if you just get close. Stay at least 25 feet away.
Consumers Energy crews will be working around the clock to fix damage to the grid, contractors have also been hired to help with tree damage. Extra crews have arrived from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky to help make repairs.
