By The Citizen
Staff Writers
John Bravender a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in White Lake, MI called the recent four day ice storm, ‘quite rare.?
‘When the warm air from the Ohio Valley parks over cold air from the north we get ice, it’s rather unique.?
While causes of the major ice storm that started late Friday, April 4 and continued through the weekend may be ‘one-of-a-kind? for weather watchers, it’s ‘one? that thousands of residents would like to forget.
Within 24 hours of the storm’s first ice, Brandon Township Supervisor Ron Lapp and Ortonville Village President Sue Bess applied for a State of Emergency status in an effort to recoup emergency work force cleanup expenses.
‘This was a tremendously devastating storm,? said Lapp.
‘There is no way of telling how much damage has been done but declaring a state of emergency allows us to recoup expenses through the fire department work force and village employee expenses.?
Representative Ruth Johnson (R-Holly), a north Oakland County resident, said emergency disaster funds are limited to 10 percent of the village or township operating budget, or $30,000, whichever is lower. If granted, the funds are distributed to each municipality for use at their discretion.
Johnson said she believes the area should be declared a disaster and will try to help get the emergency funding through.
‘It looks as though a helicopter came through flying too low and chopped off the trees,? said Johnson. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help.?
‘The damage looks to be far more than the allotted $30,000,? she said.
The two-phased ice storm caused widespread property damage from flooding and blocked roadways to ripped out power lines from fallen trees. Thousands of fire department personnel and public employees worked around the clock during the weekend.
The Village of Ortonville Department of Public Works employees worked more than 70 hours in the three day cleanup, estimated Bess.
‘I’m please with the cooperation of the DPW and the fire department,? said Bess. ‘They know what they are doing and conducted themselves very well in this emergency.?
Both the Brandon and Hadley Township Fire departments worked full staff to keep roadways free of fallen trees, looking after downed power lines, and supplying fresh water to residents whose power had been out since the storm began.
‘We worked off of a generator all weekend and although we had many calls, luckily they were mostly for downed power lines and extensive tree damage,? said Hadley Fire Chief George Lieber.
Officials from areas of both Atlas Township, Genesee County and Goodrich provided an assessment of the harsh weekend weather and the damage it caused.
‘This area really wasn’t in as bad shape as other places that were hit,? said Atlas Township Fire Chief Jim Naugler. ‘One power line went down, and we only had to respond to one medical call.?
Naugler added that when the weather breaks and the snow starts to melt, they may face other problems, including flooding.
Paul Amman, Atlas Township supervisor, reported the township office was fine. It was not closed Friday or Monday and the township did not suffer loss of electricity for a lengthy amount of time.
Many Atlas Township unpaved roadways, maintained by the Genesee County Road Commission, were also a concern for area residents as downed trees fell.
‘Since the ‘frost laws? are still in effect, it would possibly damage the roads more if heavy machinery and trucks traveled down them. It only makes it worse.? Frost laws or seasonal weight restrictions curtail the weight of vehicles on secondary area roads in an effort to prevent breakdown.
Amman said the roads are getting cleared as quickly as possible to make way for motorists.
‘The residents are being tolerant and we haven’t received any calls that I know of regarding the ice storm.?
In an effort to restore travel in the area, John Daly, managing director for the Genesee County Road Commission said they had crews of about 70-80 people working throughout the weekend, not including 20 mechanics that were busy as well. Crews were working across the county from approximately 3 a.m.on Saturday until 4 a.m.on Sunday.
‘We salted, removed trees that were blocking roadways and removed ice that had accumulated,? said Daly. ‘We had more vehicular damage than anything else.?
In the village of Goodrich and surrounding streets, village administrator Jacki Sidge, commented on the great work that Consumer’s Energy has been doing the past couple of years.
‘They have been tightening lines and clipping branches on trees that are close to the power lines for some time now. It obviously made a difference because we didn’t have that much damage in the village. Their forethought was helpful.?
Sidge said the Goodrich Department of Public Works spent the weekend removing tree limbs that broke, cleaned the sidewalks and tended to other jobs that needed to be assessed in the community.
Many roads have been cleared and are once again safe to travel, but many citizens in Genesee County are still without power, and have been since the break of the storm.
Tim Pietryga, spokesperson for Consumers Energy said 73,000 homes and businesses were affected at the height of the storm. Although many power lines have now been fixed, 2,770 people are still in the dark in Genesee County on Monday.
‘We hope to restore it by tonight (April 7). It wasn’t the fact that power lines broke, it was the trees carrying the ice that fell onto them. Our employees made 1,618 calls to different locations across Genesee County.?
Consumers Energy fixed broken cross arms, repaired damaged transformers, and restored downed lines.
In Groveland Township Supervisor Bob DePalma said it was 1988 since they’ve seen an ice storm of this magnitude. Then, Groveland and its surrounding areas were without power for 10 days.
The recent three to four days the area was without power after freezing rain hit seems mild, he added.
Groveland Township Fire Chief Steve McGee said crews had been working 80 hours straight to clear roadways of fallen trees and power lines.
‘We have been going basically nonstop since our first call came in at 5 a.m. Friday [April 4],? he said.
‘We have had about five times our normal amount of calls,? McGee added. Groveland dispatch normally runs about three calls a day, but due to the stormy weather they averaged about 50 calls over four days.
‘Most of our calls have been medical,? McGee said.
‘We have had extra accidents and a lot of medical calls. Our concerns right now are primarily carbon monoxide poisoning. With no power, a lot of people are trying to heat their homes with kerosene heaters or other appliances. The directions for those appliances say to use them in a well ventilated area for a reason.? In the 36 square miles of Groveland Township, the fire department has sent a crew down every road to ensure there will be safe passage in case of emergency.
‘Since we have been out we have seen a lot of people out cutting up trees and clearing their property,’said Jerry Hobson assistant fire chief.
McGee said the department has responded to numerous downed lines. ‘When we go out to a downed line we have to keep a safe distance and then determine what kind of a line it is.?
If the pole is in sight, a person can often determine what kind of line is down by how high on the pole it was attached. The higher on the pole, the more power the line is carrying. Lower lines are usually cable or phone lines, and the top lines are primary power lines. Even phone lines can carry a hefty charge however, if they are laying on other lines, or if a power flow is reversed in the line.
‘With all the state land in our area and because we are so sparsely populated, we are a lower priority to restore power,? DePalma said.
‘Basically though, I think Groveland, is just like everyone else, the damage is the same everywhere.?