Overhead utility cables and large trees are typically a bad combination
Village resident Robert Phillips is thankful today the inch thick wires which carry cable television and telephone service past his Granger Road house were strong enough to support the weight of a 20 foot box elder that fell during last weekend’s storms.
At about 10:30 p.m., Saturday, Phillips was in his home when he heard a crash.
‘The sound made me think there was an automobile accident in the street,? said Phillips. ‘I went outside and part of my tree was on top of my garage and car’it was unreal.?
The cables were straining but kept the massive tree off his house and car, which was parked in the driveway.
‘My car is scratch-free,? said Phillips. ‘They cut just one branch off and I backed my car out’no problem.?
The storm which felled Phillips? tree was part of a cold front sweeping across southeastern Michigan, combined with the remnants of Tropical Storm Lowell, as well as Hurricane Ike, creating a very wet weekend in the area.
In Ortonville, the National Weather Service in White Lake Township reported 6.06 inches of rainfall from Sept. 12-14. For the same time period in Goodrich, 4.16 inches of rain was recorded.
NWS Meteorologist Steve Freitag said the majority of the rain was a result of Lowell, a Pacific storm that wrapped up in the central United States on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s rainfall was the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which made landfall on Saturday morning near Galveston, Texas.
‘It’s fairly common to get remnants of a hurricane or tropical storm in Michigan in late August or September every couple years,? Freitag said. ‘Nothing terribly unusual, but two of the storms back-to-back is unusual.?
Freitag added that Detroit had the third driest August on record, with .27 inch of precipitation, close to 2.83 inches below normal, so this recent rainfall balances it out.
‘We needed to make up for it somehow,? he said. ‘Luckily, the dry month prevented some very serious flooding last weekend.?
While flooding was reported in many areas, Fred Jackson of the Genesee County Road Commission, Atlas Township, said good ditching made a difference in handling the mass amounts of water that fell over the weekend.
‘We made it through pretty decent,? said Jackson. ‘By Monday morning water closed two roads, in the 14000 block of Maple near Washburn and Vassar Road North of Maple.?
Atlas Township Supervisor Paul Amman said more than 32 miles of road have been ditched since 2000.
‘We have just about 42 miles of roads in the township’we’re still have some to get to and our plan should be to approach Lapeer County to help share in the expense.?
Amman said the township will seek assistance from Lapeer County for a joint project to help fix the Washburn Road situation.
Tractor Supply Company Store Manager Steven Brennan, 700 South Ortonville Road, Ortonville, said business picked up during the weekend storms.
‘Saturday and Sunday brought lots of customers for rain gear, rubber boots and sump pumps’plenty went out of the store fast. We stock extra pumps and are prepared with semi-loads of generator for homes. However last week’s storms were more wet than anything.?
The heavy weekend rains may have dampened Good Times in Goodrich, but the turnout was still pretty good.
Patty Plant, co-coordinator of Goodtimes in Goodrich, reported the unexpected rain dampened some of the activities last weekend. Crowds for the fourth annual event at the at the Village Commons Park and downtown were down from years past.
‘The numbers were down, however everyone there had a great time, especially the kids,? said Plant. ‘We had a band scheduled to play, but they couldn’t play because they had electronic equipment. The Restaurant Rendezvous on Sunday had a 100 percent turnout. All in all, the two days were great fun, we did the best we could.?