JACKSON, MI (WTVB/WNWN) – Consumers Energy expects restoration work will continue through Friday for most of the customers impacted by Wednesday’s severe weather but some customers in some of the hardest hit areas such as Branch, Calhoun, Kent, Jackson, and Saginaw Counties may not get their power back until the weekend.
The storm cut power to more than 235,000 customers. Over 151,000 were still without power Thursday morning. That included over 6,300 customers in Branch County and over 30,000 in Calhoun County.
In addition, there were over 1,400 customers out in Hillsdale County and over 1,500 out in St. Joseph County.
Some Burr Oak area residents have not had power since the storms on Monday night.
Consumers Energy Vice President for electric operations Guy Packard says the second wave of storms on Wednesday left over 4,000 downed wires, 2,500 tree hazards and 206 broken poles in its wake.
Some of the storms had winds of at least 70 miles an hour as the remnants of Tropical Storm Christobal caused havoc throughout lower Michigan.
Consumers spokesman Roger Morganstern urges residents to stay away from downed wires.
You can check the status of an outage and get tips on what to do after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.
According to a Consumers Energy news release, over 230 employee and contractor crews are working to help customers affected by the storms.
Consumers Energy says its crews are taking extra health and safety precautions because of the COVID-19 situation and they ask the public to keep at least six feet of distance from its crews.
