A storm swept through Michigan leaving many areas, including downtown Clarkston, without power.
DTE Energy said 375,000 people lost power Friday night after strong storms and winds gusts of 50 to 75 miles rolled through after a muggy and sticky 98 degree day.
In total, about 400,000 in Michigan lost power after the storm, mostly DTE customers.
The vicious storm disappointed Clarkston Wolves football fans after a Friday night game was disrupted by mother nature.
‘The Clarkston Varsity Football game was postponed due to the storms. The stadium was evacuated into the high school. The high school lost power while we were inside,? said Cherie Lowe.
After leaving the game, Lowe went home and discovered she was without power, too.
By Saturday, downtown businesses were closed, leaving both locals and visitors without a place to shop. Sue Smith’s plans were dashed after traveling from Howell to meet a friend for breakfast at The Olde Village Cafe.
‘I drove all this way to have breakfast and visit the shops and they’re closed,? she said.
According to resident Chuck Inabnit, the nasty storm was followed by a lovely day. ‘Even with all the devastation in the park, it was still a beautiful day for a walk,? he said.
An online DTE outage map was smeared with large areas of different colors to show users what areas and how many were impacted.
According to DTE, the majority of outages would restored by Monday, but some areas had an estimated restoration time as late as Wednesday.
Some residents were lucky, and had power back quickly. By Sunday night, some expressed joy their power was back.
City DPW workers were also praised for their quick work cleaning up messes left in the area downtown including some tree damage in Depot Park.
Jessie Richmond, a Holcomb Road resident, said he was grateful to the City of the Village of Clarkston for removing diseased trees a few weeks ago and fears if they had not been removed, his home could have been damaged.
For years, the city has lost trees because of insects, disease and storms, but the lost trees have not been replaced. Council discussed spending money to plant trees out of their over $300,000 savings account, but action has yet been taken.
Trees were not the only issue on peoples minds after the outage.
Lowe said she never experienced power outages in Genesee County like she has living in Oakland County.
‘Different electric company in Genesee County,? she said.
DTE Spokesperson Randi Berris said Friday’s storm caused the tenth most impactful storm in the companies 111-year history, and caused over 2,000 power lines to go down.
Although DTE blames the powerful winds, others blame the increasing outages on an aging infrastructure.
Tammie Heazlit said her father, an electrical engineer, told her for years the U.S. is lucky to not be experiencing more massive and long-term outages because of an aging and over taxed infrastructure.
‘It’s time we wake up…and manage our natural resources and infrastructure better,? she said.
During an outage DTE encourages customers to report any outages by calling 800-477-4747. Always stay away from downed power lines.
For updates anytime, customers can also visit dteenergy.com to see updated information such as how many customers are affected and estimated restoration times.