UNDATED (WKZO AM/FM) — Consumers Energy says they now have 22-hundred people working to repair all the outages remaining from Wednesday’s windstorms.
That includes 180 workers from six other states who have traveled to Michigan as part of a mutual aid pact between utilities.
The logistics of making sure that damage is assessed, tree limbs are removed, crews are assigned, and repairs are made with the correct parts delivered to hundreds of sites scattered all over, takes a lot of experience and coordination and manpower, but the vast majority of the workers are tree and line crews.
There are still tens of thousands without power in South West Michigan, 3500 in Kalamazoo, 2500 in Allegan, 8300 in Barry, 7400 in Calhoun, and 1200 in Branch County.
Governor Rick Snyder held a news conference Thursday afternoon, calling the windstorm one of the biggest the state has seen. He urged neighbors to check up on their elderly and disabled neighbors in those areas with prolonged outages, to make sure they are hanging in there. He is particularly concerned because colder temperatures are on the way.
Consumers Energy says they now hope to have the vast majority of everyone back on the grid by midnight Saturday, but there will be many scattered and rural outages in the hardest hit counties that won’t be addressed until Sunday.
They estimate that so far they have had to replace 1100 poles and repair 8200 wires. Those numbers will continue to climb until the work is completed.
The Kalamazoo Red Cross says it is offering assistance to homeowners who may need temporary help after Wednesday’s wind storm. Much as they help homeowners who have suffered fires who need temporary shelter, clothing or food. So far they have reached out to 9 victims.
