Cherryland reports the yesterday's restoration of the eastern side of the Bear Lake area, and overall, says about 500 members are left. The Copemish area is also seeing progress, with part of CH2 repaired, multiple crews currently at CH4 and progress expected at CH1. Brethren's BR1, BR2 and BR3 electrical leads are also planned for work today.
3/8/12 update (11:30am):
Power is back on at the Three Pines Gander, located on the north side of Bear Lake in Pleasanton Township. Wind gusts last night knocked out power and phone service at about 9:30pm, but both were restored at about 10am today.
Consumers Power reports that about 90 people in the Bear Lake area were affected by Wednesday's wind gusts, which set back the company's repair work, largely due to newly-fallen tree limbs. About 9,900 other customers throughout Michigan had similar problems due to the wind. About 100 Benzie County rural Consumers customers are still awaiting power restoration after the initial outage due to Friday's storm.
Cherryland Electric Cooperative reports that 170 people are in the field, as of this morning, have asked customers to continue calling in, and has listed office hours and contact information for those wishes to speak with management:
ONE: General Manager Tony Anderson will be available to visit with members from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cherryland headquarters. After those hours, appointments can be made in the evening from 5 to whenever by calling 486-9214 and leaving a message.
TWO - Board President Tom Van Pelt will be at the Northport Fire Station from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you would like another day or time, please leave your request at 486-9214 or email general.manager@cecelec.com
3/7/12 update (6pm):
Tony Anderson, General Manager of Cherryland Electric Cooperative, answers questions about restoring power to the company's remaining 5,000 customers. Hear the interview here.
3/7/12 update (2pm):
Red Cross shelters in Benzie County (see update below) will remain open for another night and longer, if demand continues, according to Kevin Bavers. Hot meals will also be available for those who need them.
The Three Pines Gander has not been able to speak directly with Cherryland Electric since Monday, but we can report that we've been playing phone tag with our contact. Aside from two chances to leave a voicemail with him twice today, we've encountered a steady busy signal on his direct line. We'll keep trying to get through.
In the meantime, Cherryland reports on its Facebook page that 5,000 outages remained at 8am this morning. Since then, crews have restored power at County Line Road (west of Crystal Mountain), Brethren's Farnsworth Road area (BR3) and predicts that crews will be in Kaleva later today.
3/6/12 update (7:15pm):
Kevin Bavers with the American Red Cross reports that the Manistee County shelters have now closed, but two shelters in Benzie remain open: Benzie Bus (14150 US-31 in Beulah) at (231) 325-3000 or toll-free (866) 325-3380, offering overnight shelter and meals, and Paul Oliver Hospital (224 Park Ave in Frankfort) at (231) 352-2200, offering temporary shelter to warm up.
For the latest updates on all shelters, call the main Red Cross shelter hotline before you travel: (231) 735-8384.
In its last update for the evening, Cherryland reports on its Facebook page that crews are currently working in Brethren and Thompsonville.
3/6/12 update (10:20am):
Kevin Bavers with the American Red Cross has told us that the Manistee ISD shelter has closed, due to lack of demand, but at the moment, the other two Manistee County shelters are believed to be open: (231) 378-2790(231) 362-3174
For an updated list, call the main Red Cross shelter hotline before you travel: (231) 735-8384.
BR2 Kerry Rd. and Coates Hwy area" in Manistee County. 23 crews have been dispatched this morning, as of 8am.
3/5/12 update (8:30pm):
Kevin Bavers with the American Red Cross has confirmed for us that there is an overnight shelter at the Manistee ISD building (next door to and just north of the former Kennedy Elementary School building), located at 772 E. Parkdale Ave. (that is, the stretch of US-31 on the north side of Manistee).
3/5/12 update (5pm):
Some 8,000 Cherryland Electric Cooperative members may have to wait until the end of the week before power is restored, according to Kevin Cragg, Member Services Manager. "It's certainly not going to be tomorrow, I can tell you that," he said in a phone interview with the Three Pines Gander. "Honestly, we're going to be into Friday for sure, maybe even a little later than that. The good news is that each day, we're picking up other utilities to help." Cragg said crews from the city of Holland and a variety of tree-cutting services have arrived to assist. Part of the problem, he said, is the number of trees that must be removed or trimmed in order to complete work.
Another problem is the round-the-clock, staggered-shift schedule kept by the crews. Cragg said that crews would be getting their first break since Friday tonight at 11:30pm, but would resume work between 6-7am tomorrow.
When asked about northern Manistee County outages, Cragg could not provide immediately specifics on which areas would be restored next. He did say, however, that he understood the frustration of people who see a utility crew repair a power line and move on before tending to other nearby lines. "We're working on the main lines first, which means we might get up to 150 people back on, but not 3 or 4 people on a secondary line."
Cragg said that "dozens and dozens" of main lines remain before work would start on secondary lines. He also urged Cherryland members, where possible, to check the company's Facebook page for detailed restoration updates: http://www.facebook.com/cherrylandelectriccoop
Monday, March 5 update (1pm):
While some northern Michigan communities now have utilities restored, progress is spotty and many are still waiting for light and heat. Friday evening's storm dumped between 11-18 inches of snow in northern Manistee County. Pleasanton Township on the north side of Bear Lake, and parts of Onekama, Kaleva and Brethren received the worst of it and were still without power late this morning. Benzie County residents and much of the northern lower peninsula are also still waiting, often because of power line damage from fallen tree limbs and up to 20 inches of snow. Some Consumers Energy and Cherryland Electric customers have been told that power may not be restored until late Tuesday afternoon.
Most of the Village of Bear Lake had power back on by Sunday morning and both gas stations had resumed regular business, including grocery and gas sales. Immediately following the storm, power outages had mostly closed the stations, since electricity was not available to power the gas pumps and store owners were keeping cooler doors shut to protect perishable items. There were reports of lines, 20 cars long, at Kaleva's gas station.
The Bear Lake Bar also had its doors open on Sunday for customers and those who were seeking warmth. Some local residents expressed frustration and concern over continuing power outages coupled with dropping temperatures predicted for late Sunday night. By Sunday at 9pm, the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees, with expectations of it dropping even further and a wind-chill effect of zero degrees. Local motels and other lodging facilities were reported to be full and
TV 7&4 reports two shelters open in Manistee County: (231) 378-2790(231) 362-3174at the Benzie Bus Station (14150 US Hghway 31 in Beulah), (231) 325-3000 or toll-free (866) 325-3380.
At first, northern Michigan residents scrambled for supplies, including candles, generators and gasoline, since the storm arrived on Friday. Now many are focusing on tree branch, snow removal and even flood protection, as temperatures are expected to climb throughout the week. The National Weather Service predicts partly sunny skies with a high of 49 degrees on Wednesday, with rain in the evening, and temperatures dipping into the upper 20s briefly, before returning to 49 degrees on Sunday.
The Three Pines Gander is temporarily without landline phone service due to the storm, but important updates may be called into (231) 970-1148. Thanks to Blake Hancock for helping with updates over the weekend. --Eds.
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