GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — By Saturday afternoon, about 50,000 Consumers Energy customers remained without power in Michigan. Crews have been working around the clock to restore power to more than 230,000 customers who lost power as a result of back-to-back ice storms and high winds throughout the week.
The city of Grand Rapids partnered with the American Red Cross on Thursday to set up emergency shelters for residents who had lost heat and power.
As power is being restored throughout Kent County, those shelters are being consolidated. Any residents still needing shelter on Sunday will be transferred to Wallin Congregational Church.
- City Impact Center – will close at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019
- Ottawa Hills High School – will close at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019
- Union High School – will close at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019
- North Rockford Middle School – closed on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019
- Walker Fire Department – closed on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019
The Kent County Emergency Management also provided guidance for people who are returning to their home. For refrigerated food, they say "when it doubt throw it out." Food that has been exposed to temperatures higher than 40 degrees for two hours or more should be thrown out. The emergency management team also said that a full freezer will hold the temperature for about 48 hours.
Regarding water pipes, Kent County Emergency Management said if water pipes are frozen, residents should not use open flames, torches or welders to thaw them. People can safely thaw pipes by opening cabinets to allow heat in or use a hair dryer.
The Emergency Management staff is also monitoring for potential flooding on portions of the Grand River. They are primarily concerned about localized, minor flooding in the Comstock Park area, but those conditions are not out of the ordinary.
Keep track of the outages on Consumers Energy's outage map.
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