Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Thousands are without power in Livingston County and local first responders have been working around the clock to address various issues.

Wednesday’s ice storm was brutal and caused an extensive amount of damage across Southeast Michigan. Twelve hours of freezing rain and ice resulted in downed trees and power lines.

DTE Energy said its storm response team and line workers from neighboring states are working to restore power to the more than 500,000 customers who initially lost power from the ice storm that hit the state.

In Livingston County, more than 17,000 customers are in the dark.

The utility asks that people avoid going out today and keep kids and pets out of yards due to the high number of downed wires – noting fallen trees and limbs can hide energized wires.

DTE estimates that 95% of its customers will have power restored by the end of the day Sunday.

There are some local road closures due to downed wires and tree limbs or other issues. The Brighton Area Fire Authority reported as of 2:10pm:

Grand River is now open at Hughes Road.
Hacker Road is closed, just north of McClements.
Third Street at Brighton Lake Road is closed.
Pleasant Valley is closed just north of Spencer Road.

For those without power, there are some options across Livingston County to warm up, charge devices, or just rest.

Those include the Howell Carnegie District Library; the Salvation Army at 503 Lake Street in Howell from 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday; Brighton City Hall council chambers from 8am to 4pm Thursday and Friday; and 2/42 Church in Genoa Township from 9am to 8pm.