Power restoration efforts continue across region

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WSBT) — As we got slammed with a second round of storms Wednesday night, some customers have been without power since Sunday.

That number has decreased by the day as restoration efforts are in full force.

But while utility crews are working hard to restore power, local communities are stepping up in a big way.

For some customers, it has been more than three days without power.

Over 60,000 customers were affected by Sunday’s storm.

By Wednesday afternoon, significant progress was made with more than 95% of customers back online.

That was before Wednesday night’s storms rolled through.

While progress has been made, there is still work to do and the community is helping out in a big way.

Power restoration crews all over the area this week working to restore power from Sunday’s storm and standing by for any future power problems.

Sunday’s storms resulted in 993 spans of downed power lines, 166 broken poles, and 26 damaged transformers across Indiana.

In Michigan, crews found 314 downed spans, 152 broken poles, and 27 damaged transformers.

The restoration work hasn’t come without challenges.

Due to heavy rain, lightning, and high winds, I&M crews were temporarily halted Wednesday afternoon.

As power crews descend on Northern Indiana, the community is stepping up to help.

The St. Joseph County 4-H Fairgrounds has opened its gates to utility crews, providing a safe place for them to park and rest all at no cost.

“We’ve had trucks out here before but this is the biggest that those of us on the board have ever seen,” said Kristen Sikorski Conklin, St. Joseph County 4H Fair Board President.

Each night, the fairgrounds are a temporary home for hundreds of trucks from across the region, as crews continue to work to get the lights back on and help repair the damage caused by the storm.

“We’re just glad to be able to, as one not-for-profit organization, give back to the community. It’s a safe place. It’s all contained. It just feels good to know that we’re providing that for them and we’re helping the community,” said Conklin.

Due to the second round of storms, I&M was ready, calling in an additional 1,000 mutual assistance crews to assist with restoration efforts.