METRO DETROIT (WWJ) - Heavy ice coated walkways, surface streets, trees and power lines for almost 24 hours in areas around Metro Detroit, causing massive power outages statewide in the wake of a destructive ice storm on Wednesday.
DTE officials are expecting to restore service to 95% of customers by Sunday. Nearly half a million DTE customers lost power due to Wednesday's storm.
Trevor Lauer, president and chief operating officer for DTE Energy, said in a press conference downtown Detroit on Thursday more than 3,200 power lines came crashing down during the weather event, which officials have called one of the worst ice storms to hit Southeast Michigan in over a decade.
While freezing rain has stopped falling in Metro Detroit, Lauer said the damage the storm left behind makes "an extremely dangerous condition" for residents and first responders.
DTE is working "frantically" to restore power as wind gusts are expected to top 40 mph in some areas Thursday afternoon. The National Weather Service said early in the day additional power outages were possible.
As of 8:45 p.m., the number of customers without power had risen to more than 620,000 throughout the DTE service area. CHECK THE DTE OUTAGE MAP HERE
There were an estimated 3,200 workers out in the field on Thursday, DTE officials said.
"What we really wanted to get together today and talk about is public safety," Lauer said. "The other impact of having an ice storm is that it brings down a lot of wires and when wires come down — some of those will be electrical wires, some will be telecommunication wires — but we need to make sure we respond to all of those and keep the public safe.
"The number one concern for DTE, and I'll speak for CMS and Consumer's Energy also, is making sure all the public and first responders stay safe," Lauer added.
While local authorities and crews are rushing to address the fallen wires, Lauer asked customers to stay in their homes and refrain from approaching downed lines.
Downed wires can be reported to 1-800-477-4747 or on the DTE website or app.
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