DTE and tree-trimming crews fixing damage after wind knocks out power around metro Detroit
Apr 17, 2012 (Menafn - Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Powerful winds with gusts exceeding 50 m.p.h. whipped through the state Monday, playing havoc with tree limbs and power lines.
As of 10 p.m., about 52,000 DTE Energy customers in southeast Michigan were still without service because of the winds. That number was down from 106,000 outages earlier in the day, according to DTE spokesman Scott Simons.
Most of the outages, 16,000, were in Oakland County; Wayne County had 12,000, and Macomb County had 7,000, Simons said. The remaining outages were scattered throughout DTE's service area, Simons said.
Peak gusts recorded throughout the state included those at 61 m.p.h. at 5:10 a.m. in Manistee and at 55 m.p.h. around noon in Saginaw and Ypsilanti, said Matt Mosteiko, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's White Lake Township office.
Metro Airport registered its highest gust -- 51 m.p.h. -- around 1 p.m., Mosteiko said.
About 150 power lines were downed during the day, according to Simons, who said that crews would be working throughout the night and hoped to have all power restored by tonight.
Today is expected to be mostly sunny with the high near 57. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 40. Winds between 9 and 13 m.p.h. with gusts of up to 21 m.p.h. are expected, the weather service said.
DTE is advising people to stay at least 20 feet from any downed wire and anything it is in contact with.
As the damage is repaired and power is restored, Simons said, tree-trimming crews will be cutting fallen limbs and clearing areas for repair crews. To allow the trimming crews to get where they are needed quickly, he said, they will cut and stack limbs for homeowner use or disposal rather than remove the material.
To report a downed line, call DTE Energy at 800-477-4747.
Contact Joe Rossiter: 313-222-6594 or jrossiter@freepress.com
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