(WXYZ) — A line of intense storms that moved through Southeastern Michigan on Tuesday and early Wednesday morning have caused a number of large power outages throughout our area.
As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, DTE Energy is reporting more than 106,000 customers are without power, according to the company's outage map. DTE is estimating that power will be restored to 90% of customers by end of day Thursday.
Watch the update from DTE in the video below:
DTE Energy said that the storms caused widespread damage across the entire territory, from the thumb, all the way down to the Ohio border with Michigan.
One of the areas hit hard in Wayne County was Plymouth. The city says their northwestern region took on the brunt of the damage with several downed trees, power lines and power outages in and near their downtown.
"Well it was about 2:30 in the morning and I was sound asleep when I heard what literally sounded like an airline landing in our front yard. (I) sat straight up and looked out, this is what I saw," said Lisa Carney who lives in Plymouth. "Our neighbors tree landed on our garage and my car's in the garage. It collapsed the garage. It was a lot of damage, a lot more than just trees down."
Wednesday several neighbors near Penniman Ave. and Harvey St. began the cleanup process picking up branches and tree limbs from their yards.
"I was surprised how many branches were in my backyard since I don’t have a tree," said Kristen Posa as she stood near her Plymouth home. "It feels better outside than in my house."
Cindy and Sandy Lungershausen say they're dealing with a massive hole in the roof of their garage after a portion of a tree broke and fell on it.
"We had the wind earlier but all of a sudden around 3:00 a.m. it’s like this tornado like wind," said Sandy Lungershausen.
"We started hearing thunder and it got louder and louder with lightning. Our bedroom is right here so it started getting more and more bright and then there was a big flash only to find out the transformer or something blew," Cindy Lungershausen added. "The wind was fierce and the scariest part was just hearing limbs in the neighborhood fall."
Brian Calka, the VP of distribution operations at DTE, said they also had about 350 schools without power, and a spokesperson said they know that that presents problems for families at home.
According to Calka, they restored about 120,000 people by Wednesday morning, and they hope to restore power to 75% of people by the end of the day Wednesday. They said it would go up to 90% by Thursday and then the rest on Friday.
Chief Meteorologist Dave Rexroth explains straight-line winds that were seen during storms in metro Detroit:
DTE said they have crews spread all around the state and have also called in about 400 crews from other states, including Wisconsin, Tennessee and New York to help restore power.
Calka did set several rules of thumb for people who may have a downed power line.
- First, stay indoors if possible. If you do venture outside and you come across caution tape, do not cross it.
- Stay at least 25 feet away from any downed power line
- If it is touching a fence or other object, do not touch the object because it could be carrying electricity
- If you are using a generator, operate the generator outside and move it away from doors and windows
VIDEO: See major storm damage along a trail in Rochester Hills
"We understand the challenges that not having electricity presents to our customer base. We are laser-focused on removing safety hazards and restoring power," Kalka said.
For customers who have lost power or see a downed power line, there are three ways to contact DTE – either by phone at 800-477-4747, on the web at dteenergy.com or you can access the DTE Energy Mobile App from your smartphone or tablet.
