COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — Thousands of people across the state remain without power almost 96 hours after tornadoes touched down throughout Michigan on Thursday. Michele Champion in Comstock Park is one of them.
It's been a while since a storm like this came down Wallingford Drive.
"1965 was the last tornado that went through here," says Champion.
She would know best, her family has lived in the home for decades. On Thursday, she couldn't believe what she was seeing from her windows, as trees that stood since she was a child fell around her.
"I was like, oh my gosh, holy cow," says Champion. "And then all of a sudden, power went out."
Four days later, it hasn't come back on.
"It's just been miserable," she says. "Just miserable. We're exhausted."
Champion says Consumer's Energy told her on Saturday it would be back on later that day. Shortly afterwards, she got another text message from Consumer's saying her address "was not affected by this outage". Champion replied to the message to say that was incorrect, her power was still out.
"And then they said check your circuit breakers," she says.
Champion's power outage was deemed isolated from the storm.
"They ended up putting us all the way down to the bottom," says Champion. "Like it wasn't important."
But to her, it is important. No power, the cause of uncomfortable sleepless nights and wasted food.
"I had a freezer full of venison," says Champion. "That's all gone."
When asked about Champion's home, Consumer's sent us this statement:
"While we can't speak to this specific customer's situation, our crews have been working round the clock and are heavily concentrated now in the hardest hit areas that remain without power. We appreciate our customers’ patience and are working to restore power as safely and as quickly as possible."
While her house remains dark, Champion remains unsatisfied.
"I don't understand at all why they would do that," she says.
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