Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Consumers Energy is working to finish restoring power to customers affected by the pre-July 4 storm that battered our state.

As of 6 a.m., the utility said about 18,500 customers remained without power. Consumers Energy has over 460 crews at work Monday to help communities recover from the powerful wind storm.

“We are keeping crews on our system today, with lineworkers giving their all in 16-hour shifts to ensure we turn the lights on quickly and safely,” said Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for this storm.

“We know many households endured a full weekend without power. We want to help everyone, too, and we’re thankful for their understanding as we finish the job,” Kapala said.

Consumers Energy crews have been joined by Michigan contractors and lineworkers from Ohio, Maryland and Alabama. The company is operating storm trailers and mobile command centers in hard-hit Allegan, Hillsdale and Adrian to bring supplies and resources into the field.

DTE reported more than 79,600 customers without power as of 7:30 a.m. Monday. The company estimated that 95% of impacted customers will be restored by the end of the day Monday.

Consumers Energy and DTE customers can check the status of outages at the links below.

Keep these safety tips in mind:

• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and 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 slows down the restoration process for everyone.

• 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.

• 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, cleanup 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.