HOLLAND (WHTC) — A wave of severe storms knocked out power to more than 1,000 people in the greater Holland area.
Consumers Energy’s outage map showed more than 1,000 Park Township customers without power, between Riley and Barry streets and 136th to 168th avenues. Another 210 customers in the dark were scattered from New Holland Street norht into West Olive, west of 120th Avenue. Further north and generally scattered from Grand Haven Township to Muskegon Township were another 2,500 powerless customers.
Holland BPW’s outage map showed a total of 30 customers in the dark, evenly divided between a neighborhood near Central Avenue and 20th Street and on Birchwood Avenue, north of Eighth Street.
Outage figures could quickly change, as a series of powerful thunderstorms is sweeping across Michigan and could continue intermittently until dawn.
Consumers Energy works to restore areas affecting public health, safety and commerce first, according to the utility’s website.
Consumers’ safety tips:
- Stay at least 25 feet away from any downed wires and to report them immediately by calling 9-1-1 or Consumers Energy at 1-800-477-5050.
- Be alert to crews working along roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they safely can go past workers on roadsides.
- If using a generator, contact a licensed electrician to ensure that it is properly connected and, for the safety of our lineworkers, make certain it is isolated from the company’s electric distribution system. Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement or near any air intakes, and never fuel a generator when it is running.
- In some cases, the mast which holds the electric service wires to a customer’s 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.
