JACKSON, Mich. — Crews with Consumers Energy have worked through the night following back-to-back waves of icy precipitation in west Michigan. Strong winds overnight also caused additional outages on Consumers Energy’s system.
Electric interruptions rose steadily throughout the day Thursday as the region continued to battle freezing rain and high winds. Due to the winds and precipitation, Consumers Energy says crews saw additional downed lines overnight Thursday and into today.
Consumers Energy says be aware of the potential for additional downed electric lines, stay at least 25 feet away from the downed wires and report them by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
Consumers Energy says the addition of 179 out of state crews arriving Friday is on top of the 53 out of state crews that arrived Thursday. Crews arriving Friday to aid in the restoration are coming from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa and Tennessee through Great Lakes Mutual Assistance.
Consumers Energy urges the public to keep these important safety tips in mind:
· Call 2-1-1 if you are looking for help connecting to temporary shelter or other resources that offer assistance in your community. 2-1-1 is a free statewide service.
· Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
· Be alert to utility 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.
· Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
· In some cases, the mast which holds the electric service wires to a customer’s home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.
