After declaring a state of emergency across 12 counties and deploying the National Guard to northern Michigan earlier this week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer went up north herself to see the devastation from a recent ice storm that hit the region.
Donning gloves, the Democrat governor served hundreds of people onion rings at the E-Free Church in Gaylord on Thursday afternoon.
Church leadership say that since the weekend, more than one thousand people have dropped by the shelter to stock up on food and water or stay overnight.
Addressing the crowd, Whitmer shared the state's recovery efforts and said she understands people are anxious to get back home.
"It's all-hands-on-deck," she said. "I know it's going to be a tough recovery in a lot of communities across our state, this one included, but we will stay at it and get through it together."
Whitmer told WCMU that she will likely be requesting federal aid, but the process takes time. She said there are strict requirements to qualify for disaster funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"I did talk to President Trump (Wednesday), just to start the conversation, but we can't even apply until we have a full understanding and report of the extent and breadth of the damage," she said. "And frankly there are still so many roads you can't even go, drive through (to assess the destruction)."
An executive order signed by Trump on March 18 calls to shift disaster preparations from FEMA to states and local governments, and the administration has terminated more than 200 FEMA employees.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also recently said in a cabinet meeting that FEMA would be "eliminated." However, dismantling FEMA would require congressional action.
Whitmer acknowledged there are a "lot of unknowns" in regard to how cuts to FEMA may affect disaster funding for the region, but she said Trump "cares about Michigan."
"All the questions about FEMA and funding are real, but we're going to put everything out there, and try to get as much help as we can," she said.
Whitmer also made stops in Petoskey and Alpena to review progress on emergency response efforts.
As part of the state emergency declaration, the Michigan Department of Treasury is offering effected individuals and businesses within the 12 impacted counties special tax relief. Also, households that receive state food assistance may be eligible to have SNAP-purchased food replaced, as long as spoilage is reported within 10 days of a prolonged outage.
Shelter, resources are still available
Power restoration efforts are in the "homestretch," according to Consumers Energy. While more populated areas are coming back online, thousands of people in rural parts of the state are still without power.
"There are a few hard hit areas up here that might go into the weekend, but for the most part, (Wednesday's) storm wasn't as bad as predicted," said Katie Carey, with Consumers. "We've got clear weather today. If the winds stay down, we have tons of crews out."
Carey said the recent ice storms are likely in the state's top 10 "worst storms," with a tally of more than 350,000 impacted Consumers customers. She added that the company has a long-term plan to "insulate" the system like putting overhead lines underground and sectionalizing the grid.
CURRENT OUTAGE INFO
For people who are going on day seven without power or are in need of resources, the Gaylord E-Free Church, which Whitmer toured, is one of several warming shelters available across the region.
Pastor Scott Distler said the church opened its doors during the Gaylord tornado in 2022 and again this past Saturday night to feed and house residents from across the region.
He said a team of volunteer nurses has shown up to assist people with medical needs, and the church community has also helped retrieve people who were trapped in their homes.
"These folks here are so misplaced and discouraged, and now that the shock has worn off, they're scared, so being able to give them a hot meal, it just eases them," Distler said.
Distler said the church will stay open as long as it's needed and will work to connect people with other resources as the recovery effort eases, adding that, "no one's going to be left out in the cold."
For Nelva Durrett, a Frederic resident, the church was a "blessing." She's currently on oxygen after recently being intubated and has spent the last few days at the shelter.
She said she got out of the hospital the same day the power went out but couldn't go back.
"I was okay because we came right over here," Durrett said. "... I am just amazed at the community that came together and set this all up for everybody. You got people here who have money, but that's not doing them any good right now, and you have people here that don't have money, and (this place is) doing them a whole lot of good right now."
