METRO DETROIT – Strong winds Sunday brought down trees and caused mass power outages across Metro Detroit.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for the counties of Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne until 4 a.m. Monday.
MORE: Metro Detroit weather: Wind Advisory now in effect
As of 6:40 p.m. Sunday, more than 195,000 DTE customers are without power. The outages are spread across Metro Detroit with a large number near West Bloomfield.
A fire started on Atkins Drive in Troy when a tree came down on a utility pole. Video can be seen below.
DTE has more than 370 crews around southeast Michigan working to restore power.
Oakland County seems to be the area hit hardest.
Ryan Stow, with DTE, said there have been about 1,000 downed power lines across Metro Detroit.
“We’re building our restoration plan and we have got some crews in from out of state,” Stow said.
Track outages: DTE Energy power outage map: Here’s how to check it
“High winds and heavy rain have caused extensive tree damage and more than 1,000 downed power lines across DTE’s service territory so far. DTE crews are assessing damage, and making repairs and restoring power, in areas where it is safe to do so. Continued severe weather – and additional outages – are expected through this evening,” officials said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
“We understand how difficult it is to be without power and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these outages may have caused,” the statement continued. “Our crews are working as safely and quickly as possible to restore power to affected customers and we won’t stop working around the clock until all outages have been resolved.”
To help keep customers and its employees healthy throughout the pandemic, if you see crews working in your neighborhood, please stay at least six feet away. Please note: Estimates for restoring your power may take several hours to prepare and could change once crews arrive on scene and fully assess equipment damage.
Severe weather resources: