MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — All major highways in Muskegon County are now open, but several residential and secondary roads still remained closed, Muskegon County Emergency Manager Renee Gavin said Tuesday afternoon during a press conference.
This comes hours after the announcement that about 50% of local roads in Muskegon County were impassable due to downed power lines and trees from a severe storm that brought winds of up to 70 mph.
A total of two people have been reported injured and eight homes seriously damage. Authorities say that one person was injured due to a car crash and another was a jogger who was hit by a tree.
The Emergency Operations Center for Muskegon County was activated after extensive damage was reported throughout the county.
Police, fire, EMS, tree crews, power line crews and road crews are busy responding, authorities said.
You're asked to only call 911 if you have a life-threatening emergency. Anyone who needs immediate services such as food or temporary housing is asked to dial 211 or call 231-733-1155.
Muskegon County emergency managers ask if you have damage to use this self-reporting survey.
Pioneer Park was hit especially hard and is now closed for the day.
If you see a downed power line, do not go near it or anything it might be touching. You can call Consumers Energy to report the downed line at 800-477-5050.
The power company said more than 150,000 customers are in the dark. Most of those outages are along the lakeshore in Muskegon and Oceana Counties.
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Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:
- Be alert to crews working along roadsides. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past.
- Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy reminds people that falsely calling in downed lines actually slows down the restoration process for everyone.
- Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
- Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
- In some cases, the mast that holds the electric service wires to a home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.
Severe storms hit West Michigan Tuesday
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