LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — "We have outages all the time. The wind can blow and we'll get a power outage," said Nancy Gribeck whose husband monitors the weather closely due to the fact that she says their home and a few of their neighbors always lose power, even when there isn't a major weather event.
"We always assume that we're going to and prepare for it," she said.
The Masek family lives in the area of Six Mile Road and Farmington and Jeff and his wife have often had to start a fire in their fireplace to stay warm, but now that they have an 18-month-old baby, they have to pack up with their dog and head to stay with loved ones.
"We've got to find somewhere else to go, either a hotel or my mother-in-law lives down the street, so that's lucky for us but not for other people in the area," he said.
Wednesday afternoon, Matt Paul, Executive Vice President Distribution Operations DTE Electric said they've activated their storm response team including 1,500 lineworkers. Paul said they have also secured 400 crews from out-of-state who are now in Michigan to assist with restoring customers.
And Paul said the number of people without power could be significant if the temperature allows too much ice to accumulate on power lines.
"If we see a half an inch or more of ice, it certainly wouldn't be out of the question to see a few hundred thousand outages or thereabouts," said Paul.
"It is difficult because you always worry, especially when it's really cold, about the pipes freezing. That's our biggest concern," said Gribeck. "We make sure our phones are charged and I've actually gotten a bag together one time when there was all that ice and I was ready to throw all these clothes in the bag and just get ready to go because if it gets that bad, it could be pretty bad."
