Thousands of people across Michiana experienced power outages following high winds on Friday
ST. JOSEPH COUTNY, Ind. -- Thousands of people across Michiana experienced power outages following high winds on Friday.
Traffic lights in various cities were out of commission, like the lights on Douglas Road and S.R. 933. Many people like Abigail Contreras were forced to make a way on their own.
"We got four cats at home trying to keep warm. We have an electric heater, so when that went out, we did all that we could with the oven and everything, and it's still pretty cold, but we're doing everything that we can this to stay safe," Contreras shared.
Thankfully, Contreras's home is back online after losing power at 6 a.m.
Indiana Michigan Power Spokesperson says high winds and the saturated ground are causing the outages.
"There may be some delays today, and that's just so we can keep our crew safe as they work to restore power. So in these conditions, with these strong and frequent wind gusts that we are seeing, it's not safe for our workers to be aloft in the bucket trucks that we often see them working in to restore power, it's not safe," Doyle explained.
Doyle says crews on the ground are doing everything they can to clear trees and debris and restore power.
"We partner with some other businesses to have their tree trimming crews come out and remove those trees from the lines, so then we can safely restore power. And so, we also have other tools. There is work that we can do from the ground, and there is work that is being done by our self-healing technology that we've installed throughout our service area that will automatically reroute power to automatically restore them."
According to Contreras, high winds are ripping apart trees and property like nothing.
"My neighbors right across the street and beside us are losing their siding on the trailer from the wind, and it's just coming down. Some of the cars do have damage from the trees that did fall and then going into the trailer court, there is also caution tape where the tree did fall on the transformer." explained Contreras.
Indiana Michigan Power is urging everyone to make safe and smart decisions in this weather.
"If you do see a downed power line; we are asking that you stay as far away as you possibly can from that and anything it may be touching, including metal fences or even trees because anything that power line is touching, that is going to then become energized, and it could be deadly if you come in contact with that," said Doyle.
Anyone who sees a downed power line is urged to contact their local police department or Indiana Michigan Power immediately at 800-311-4634 for Indiana residents and 800-311-6424 for Michigan residents.