Southeast Michigan storms cause downed trees, power lines in Rochester Hills
(CBS DETROIT) - Thousands of people across Metro Detroit are dealing with downed power lines, snapped tree limbs and debris after a storm traveled through Southeast Michigan on Tuesday.
"We have a generator, so we prepared for this quite a few years ago," said Rochester Hills resident Jeff Sugg. "So, it is what it is."
Sugg says he's lived in his Rochester Hills neighborhood for years, but he's never experienced a power outage quite like this.
"We've never lost power like this ever," Sugg said. "We've lived here almost 30 years but never had this problem."
According to DTE Energy, more than 288,000 customers lost power, but as of Wednesday morning, about 30% of that power had been restored. The energy company expects 90% of customers impacted to have power by the end of the day on Thursday.
Tyler Martin, another Rochester Hills resident, also spoke with CBS News Detroit about the power outages the community is facing.
"On the app, [it's been] back and forth," Martin said. "I think last night it showed Thursday it was potentially going to be back up, but this morning the outage area was gone, but still no power."
But DTE says its thousands of employees are doing what they can, even bringing in more than a thousand line workers from outside the area to help speed restoration. DTE is also asking people to stay at least 25 feet away from any downed wires and anything a wire touches.
