Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com

Severe storms sparked fires and toppled trees and power lines throughout Livingston County.

Thousands of residents and businesses were left in the dark following the storms that rolled through early Monday evening, bringing high winds and heavy rain.

9-1-1 Central Dispatch and emergency response crews were inundated with calls of downed power lines and trees, which made some roads impassable. At least three structure fires were also reported, some sparked by down trees and power lines.

The Brighton Area Fire Authority reported that crews were out all over the county working to identify hazards and remove what they could.

Consumers Energy Spokesman Josh Paciorek told WHMI they had been watching the storm ever since began picking up intensity to the west and were busy preparing crews, getting trucks stocked and pre-staging crews in areas.

Paciorek said they were ready but when a storm of such magnitude with 70 mph winds sweeps through the state, it leaves a lot of damage behind. He said wind gusts knocked down trees, limbs, and hundreds of power lines in counties across the state.

Paciorek said crews are focused on assessing the damage and worked through the night to begin restoring power to impacted customers but again noted that there is a lot of debris and damage out there.

DTE Energy’s outage map showed an initial total of 28,661 customers without power. Thousands of those outages were scattered across Livingston County - with large concentrations in the Howell, Hamburg, Marion, Oceola and Brighton Township areas.

A message on DTE Energy’s website stated their Storm Response Teams were ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. They also reminded people to be safe and stay at least 20-feet away from any downed power lines, and to report any downed lines or outages.

Photos: Brighton Area Fire Authority Facebook.