Northern Michigan power company warns 9-day-old ice storm outage could ‘extend for multiple days’

More than a week after a historic storm ripped through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and part of the Lower Peninsula, thousands were still without power Monday — and one power company was warning its customers of a prolonged outage.

Utility companies’ crews have made progress in restoring electricity to many, but an estimated 34,000 were still without service Monday morning. The ice storm that struck the region had that number in the hundreds of thousands, prompting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency.

Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op, which serves a nine-county region in northeast Michigan, said 13,527 of its more than 31,000 customers were still in the dark at 8 a.m. Sunday. Power restoration had reached 62%, according to its website.

Presque Isle’s online outage map had not updated Monday, with the company on saying on its website that “Our outage map is offline because it is not accurately reflecting our restoration progress.”

Company officials did not immediately return a message seeking an estimate for when service would be restored for all customers. In a Facebook post Monday afternoon, Presque Isle Electric said customers who were still without power “should plan for the outage to extend for multiple days” because “weather, impassable roads and other difficult conditions” are impeding progress.

The company said 237 repair crews from across the U.S. and Canada rolled out of the company’s office early Saturday for the restoration efforts. Furthermore, the company said it expected to have all its main power lines restored by the end of Monday.

“These lines are the backbone of our system, and once they are energized, that’s what allows us to branch out and connect more taps to individual neighborhoods and homes,” the company said in a Facebook post.

Alpena Power said Monday it restored electricity to 94% of its customers, but about 1,000 of the homes and businesses it serves remained without power.

When asked Monday to estimate when service might be restored for all customers, Great Lakes Energy Director of Communications and Marketing Brett Streby directed The Detroit News to send him an email, which was not immediately returned.

“Continuous progress has been made,” Ken Dragiewicz, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “In many areas, we are moving into the last phase of our restoration process, restoring service drops to individual homes.

“As we move through the final stage of restoration, some customers may experience a short-duration outage as repairs are made to other customers connected to the same transformer.”

Great Lakes Energy, which serves western northern Michigan from the tip of the mitten to Holland, said Monday about 19,000 of its more than 132,000 customers had interrupted service.

“We know the last several days without power have been incredibly challenging,” company CEO Shaun Lamp said in a video message to customers posted on YouTube. “The catastrophic ice storm that struck our region lasted three days, unlike anything we’ve experienced before. The damage is extensive.”

He said crews are making steady progress across the company’s service area.

“Our current goal is to have power substantially restored in many areas by the end of the day Tuesday,” Lamp said. “However, due to the rural nature of our territory, some members will experience longer restoration times.”

On Sunday, the company said crews restored power to more than 12,000 of its customers in the previous two days and 84% of its total customers had electricity. It also said the lights were back on at the Munson Health Clinic on M-32 in Elmira and at Lewiston businesses.

On Monday, Consumers Energy reported 44 outages affecting 507 of its customers across the state, and 99.9 % of its total customers had power, according to its online outage map. More than 400 of the customers are in 10 counties in northern Michigan. At one time, it had about 350,000 in the dark due to the storms.

Cloverland Electric Cooperative, which provides power in the eastern Upper Peninsula, reported it had 153 of its more than 43,500 customers in the dark on Monday.

On Monday, Michigan Department of Transportation officials asked residents of the affected area not to place storm debris in the right of way.

They said putting storm damage materials in those areas will slow down road maintenance workers who are trying to clear roadsides and make it easier for utility repair crews to restore service to their customers.

“We understand that residents are working to clear their properties of debris from the ice storm more than a week ago, but the roadside is not the place for that material,” Bill Wahl, MDOT’s North Region associate engineer for operations, said in a statement. “MDOT does not have the resources to collect those materials and has no plans to remove them.”

He said residents who are gathering storm damage materials for collection and disposal by private companies should place them back from the roadside and away from any utility lines.

Trails closed

On Friday, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist visited Alpena and Emmet counties to review the progress.

“Throughout my visit to northern Michigan, I was proud to thank our first responders for their unwavering dedication to keeping us safe, and I was grateful to meet with those who were hardest hit by the severe storms,” Gilchrist said in a statement. “We will continue working tirelessly until every road is cleared, every home is restored, and our community is back on its feet. Michiganders always stand tall for each other, and together, we will overcome this challenge.”

Meanwhile, officials with the state’s Department of Natural Resources said Friday that state-managed trails in a dozen northern Michigan counties, including parts of the eastern Upper Peninsula, will remain closed following the severe ice storms.

“Storm damage is extensive, and many trails are impassable and unsafe,” Tim Novak, state trails coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Parks and Recreation Division, said in a statement. “Significant time will be needed to assess and address affected areas. Many areas may also be affected by erosion and culvert issues from the recent rains.”

Officials said DNR personnel, along with the Michigan National Guard, are also assisting emergency crews in communities affected by the storms with clearing debris and cleanup.

Paige Perry, DNR recreation trails specialist for the north-central Lower Peninsula, urges the public to respect the closures and permit first responders and others to safely assess damage, restore power, and eventually clear debris from the multicounty trails system.

“The damage was extensive in the forests of the northern Lower Peninsula where our recreational trails are found, and the cleanup effort will take weeks or months,” she said in a statement. “More information will be released as soon as areas are cleared and the trails are once again safe to use. In the meantime, we ask that everyone explore Michigan’s other beautiful trails until the Tip of the Mitt is reopened.”

cramirez@detroitnews.com

mreinhart@detroitnews.com