(WWJ) Thousands of people are now in their third day without electricity after Sunday's windy weather brought down trees and power lines across metro Detroit.
As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, around 39,000 homes and businesses in Southeast Michigan were still without heat and lights.
DTE Energy says power has been restored to more than 80% of the 285,000 customers who were affected by the outages on Sunday. High winds caused extensive tree damage and brought down more than 1,800 power lines, officials said.
Most of the restoration work on Tuesday is happening where the electrical system experienced the most damage from trees and large limbs falling on power lines, DTE said, making the repairs more challenging and time-consuming.
DTE said it has more than 2,000 workers out in the field, including out-of-state crews brought in to help out. An additional 250 out of state crew members are on the way from Wisconsin, Indiana and Kentucky to help expedite restoration efforts, DTE said.
Cicely Lames, who lives in the area of 14 Mile Red. and Middlebelt in West Bloomfield, said she deals with multiple power outages every year.
While she's frustrated, Lames said her family is doing OK on a generator.
"We have our refrigerator on it," she said. "We have internet and TV in one room, in the main room. We also have a deep freezer on it, and we have electricity running through the office and the family room as well."
DTE said its crews will continue to work around the clock until all customers are restored.
The utility expects a majority will be back online Tuesday night.
"We know it's frustrating to be without power, especially now during the pandemic and in colder weather," DTE said, in a statement. "We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we work to restore their power as safely and quickly as possible."
DTE asks the public to always stay at least six feet away from any crews you may see out working on the power issues. If you see a downed power line, stay 20 feet away and report it immediately at THIS LINK.
