Heavy wind knocks down trees and causes massive blackouts in metro Detroit



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METRO DETROIT – Strong winds on Sunday knocked down trees and caused massive power outages in the Detroit metro area.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties until 4 a.m. Monday.

MORE: Weather Metro Detroit: Wind Advisory Now In Effect

On Sunday at 6:40 p.m., more than 195,000 DTE customers were without electricity. The outages are spread across the Detroit subway with large numbers near West Bloomfield.

A fire broke out on Atkins Drive in Troy when a tree fell on a utility pole. The video can be seen below.

DTE has more than 370 crews in Southeast Michigan working to restore power.

Oakland County appears to be the hardest hit region.

Ryan Stow, with DTE, said there had been around 1,000 downed power lines on the Detroit subway.

“We are developing our restoration plan and we have crews coming from out of state,” Stow said.

Outage tracking: DTE Energy power outage map: here’s how to check it

“High winds and torrential rains have caused extensive damage to trees and over 1,000 downed power lines in DTE’s service territory so far. DTE crews assess damage, make repairs, and restore power to areas where it is safe to do so. Continued inclement weather – and additional blackouts – are expected this evening, ”officials said in a statement Sunday afternoon.

“We understand how difficult it is to be without power and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these outages may have caused,” the statement continued. “Our teams are working in the safest and fastest possible way to restore power to affected customers and we will not stop working around the clock until all outages have been resolved.”

To help customers and its employees stay healthy throughout the pandemic, if you see teams working in your neighborhood, please stay at least six feet away. Note: Estimates for restoring your power supply can take several hours to prepare and could change once crews arrive on scene and fully assess property damage.

Severe weather resources:

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