Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for seven northern Michigan counties after a blizzard and ice storm devastated communities and left more than 100,000 residents without power.
Roscommon and Alcona Counties are two of those counties, and most of their residents have been without power since Sunday night.
Katie Carey from Consumers Energy says power is estimated to be restored by the end of the week.
Thank you to our first responders and emergency crews in Northern Michigan and the UP working around the clock to keep Michiganders safe.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) March 16, 2026
As winter conditions continue to worsen throughout the region, please stay inside and stay safe.
After declaring a local state of emergency on Monday, Roscommon County, along with Alcona, Alpena, Delta, Missaukee, Ogemaw, and Wexford counties will get state assistance with storm clean-up.
“By taking this action, the state can respond to local requests faster and make every resource available to local communities to clear roads, deliver fuel, fix damage and keep the lights on," Whitmer said in a statement. "I want to thank all first responders who are working tirelessly to keep people safe.”
Roscommon’s Emergency Management Director Vanessa Varner says, so far, the community has been hands-on with cleaning up the storm's aftermath.
“When the responders show up, the trees [have] already been cleared by somebody that was passing by and chose to do it on their own,” Varner said. “Our community is a resilient, responsive community. We all tend to work together and pull together during times of need.”
With around 3,200 power lines down, Carey says crews are working around the clock to get electricity restored.
“Please be cautious,” Carey warns community members. “If you see a down wire, treat it as an active wire and stay 25 feet away.”
Anyone can report a downed power line by calling 911 or Consumers Energy.
Up to 4 feet of snow was dumped in some northern Michigan areas, leaving downed lines buried and some residents snowed in.
Roscommon County’s Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Rodgers advised residents who may be trapped inside without power to avoid opening doors and windows and to stay covered by blankets or sleeping bags as temperatures remain below freezing.
After Sunday's brutal winter storm, our crews have worked around the clock, restoring service to more than 100,000 Michiganders like you. With over 700 crews working 16-hour shifts, we're committed to safely getting everyone back up and running as efficiently as possible. In… pic.twitter.com/doP7qumZQg
— Consumers Energy (@ConsumersEnergy) March 17, 2026
Using secondary heat sources during outages is helpful, Rodgers says, but sometimes it's risky.
“Some people use gas cooking stoves to heat or to try to maintain heat in their homes,” Rodgers said. “We just want to caution them on doing things like that just to make sure that they don't have gas leaks and when turning on a gas burner or leaving a gas burner on.”
Rodgers says using wood stoves to generate heat is a much safter option if chimneys are cleaned with the proper upkeep.
For those with generators, Rodgers says to monitor carbon monoxide levels and to keep the generators exhaust far enough away.
If a generator is stored in a garage, Rodgers says the door needs to stay open with the exhaust plane out of the garage.
For those who aren’t trapped inside of their homes, Varner says there are several warming centers open with food, water and Wi-Fi.
“We're trying to make sure that we've got all of our bases covered to help people as much as we can,” Varner said, adding that addresses for warming centers, information on free meals and other important updates are available on the county’s social media.
“We're trying really hard to make sure that all the entire community's needs are met right now,” Varner said.
We note Consumers Energy is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
