Staff Reports
From grocery stores to gas stations to hardware stores, local businesses grappled with the worst blackout ever to darken the area.
After working in the retail food business for more than 20 years Diane Ridley figured she’d experienced just about everything.
Until Thursday afternoon.
From 4 p.m. Aug. 14 until Friday afternoon Aug. 15, Ridley, the assistant store manager for Bueche’s Food World in Ortonville contended with the ordeal.
‘The whole day was the worst I’d ever seen,? said Ridley.
Soon after the power went out and the temperature in the massive store coolers started to rise. So much, says Ridley, that, ‘pop and fresh biscuits in the refrigerator sections started to open right on the shelf.?
The major concern for Ridley was the food safety issues and the several hundred pounds of fresh meat, dairy and deli products sold at the store.
‘You just can’t take a chance on those products,? said Ridley.
A local waste hauler provided a 30 yard Dumpster and about nine tons of fresh foods were loaded in for disposal. ‘The power was out for about 19 hours and even when it came back on we had to wait before we could open.?
Ridley said that several customers were upset the store did not open right after the power came back on Friday morning.
‘We had to wait till the cooler ‘cooled down,? it takes a few hours for us to start up again.?
Water sales tallied about 1,500 gallon and ice totaled 300 pounds.
The Shell Food Mart on Ortonville Road experienced many of the same problems as other service stations in the area.
Bill Lyman, manager in training, said sale of fuel and customer count on Thursday almost tripled an average day’s sales. The Shell was the first station to open in the area, selling 15,000 gallons of fuel from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Thursday. On an average day, the station sells approximately 5,000 gallons. The customer count was 2,347, almost doubling an average day of 1,300 customers.
‘We ran out of fuel on Thursday, as did many of our other stations both north and south. Some of the customers were just out of hand, basically almost hitting our employees with their cars,? said Lyman.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Department directed traffic for the day, collecting names and plate numbers for those who were being harmful to other motorists.
‘The customers just didn’t understand that they had to wait in line. Most were calm, but some were just frantic.?
The Shell station ran out of fuel again on Friday, but was refueled when power was restored in Detroit on Saturday.
While many Genesee and Oakland county residents struggled for days without water or electricity, Goodrich and Atlas Township maintained their power.
Mark Brownrigg of Brown’s Do-It-Center said they sold or rented every generator available, and business was in lieu of the blackout.
‘It was pretty hectic here for awhile. People remained calm, but we were really busy all weekend.?
Brownrigg said everything from batteries to plugs was sold within the first day and a half.
‘People came as far as Pontiac for generators. If we had more, those would have sold instantly too,? said Brownrigg.
Not only were one-stop shops such as Brown’s busy, but local gas stations, such as the two BP gas stations on State Road, were flooded with motorists.
‘We ran out of gas on Friday morning. When we had to tell people we had no fuel, it became a madhouse,? said Rod Church, co-owner of Church and Son’s Service Station on State Road.
Church said on Thursday night the station had enough fuel to last four or five days in a normal week, but when the blackout struck, it was gone within the first day.
‘We couldn’t get any more gas after we ran out either because our fuel comes from Detroit, and they were without power. People were becoming very frustrated, but what were we going to do?? said Church.
The BP service station across the street experienced similar sales. Police officers from Genesee County directed traffic into the station from State Road from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. Captain Mike Rau said the station sold approximately 7,000 gallons of gas over the weekend and called them for assistance when they realized the situation was becoming hectic.
‘We had three squad cars at the station, and people were definitely becoming very upset at times. There were a couple of instances where people came to blows, but overall, the situation was taken care of,? said Rau.
Rau said the traffic for both service stations was backed up to Green Road, approximately one mile away for the remainder of the day.
The Goodrich Market Place on State Road was another business who felt a huge influx of customers coming from Pontiac, Lake Orion, Sterling Heights and places in the north such as Grand Blanc and Flint.
‘We sold out of basically everything from bread, water, ice and batteries. Special deliveries were being made, extra staff was called in for the weekend, it was pretty crazy. We have fully restocked our shelves as of now though,? said Kathy Cassabon, owner of the Marketplace with husband Rick.
Cassabon said customers were generally in a good mood and surprisingly were purchasing beer, chips and snack items.
‘At about 4:30 p.m. the customers started coming. We were lucky to not be without our power.
By Christiane Daily & David Fleet