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Tina Sawyer: A blizzard and ice storm swept across northern Michigan at the start of the week, leaving 90% of Roscommon County without power for days.
To get a better understanding of the disaster, WCMU reporter Emma George-Griffin traveled to the area Wednesday to talk to residents and business owners about their experience during the storm. Emma, how was the drive up there, first of all?
Emma George-Griffin: Well, it was a little bit scarier than I anticipated. The highways were okay, but the wind had drifted snow over part of the road. And once I got to Roscommon County, the roads were like crusted over with ice. I was kind of holding on for dear life, going really slow. And on top of that, it was kind of like a tunnel of trees. There's not a single road. aside from like downtown areas that aren't lined with trees and power lines. And these trees were weighed down with ice and kind of bowing over into the center of the road.
TS: Must have been a beautiful sight, but not too exciting as far as being on the road. You were bouncing all over Roscommon County on Wednesday. Where did you go and what did you see?
EGG: Yeah, so I went to a few different warming shelters across the county and I stopped at a community lunch. There were folks there from all over the county waiting in line to get warm food. All of them said that they had lost power at some point. Some had power back at that point. Some didn't. but almost everyone was kind of unfazed by the situation.
Gary Warneck was one resident I spoke to from Higgins Lake. He said a tree fell in his home and caused extensive damage, and his wife relies on oxygen. So when they lost power, it was a pretty big deal. Luckily, they had a generator, but he said it cost him $70 a day to fuel it.
Gary Warneck: It's just adjusting to what you got, you know, these conditions of everyday life up here in Northern Michigan. If you're going to live here, you better be ready.
EGG: Warneck said that he felt like he had it good in comparison to other people.
TS: So what were the warming shelters like in that area?
EGG: So there were several warming shelters. During the day, they were pretty much empty. At night, they filled up a little bit more. There was huge boxes of food with bread and other non-perishable things that volunteers were handing out, and there was Wi-Fi and water.
But I also went to a local restaurant that kind of doubled as a warming shelter. There was bowling and bingo and hot meals. The owner, Alexis Millikin, said one server named Mylene had to clear her road with a chainsaw to get to work. Oh, wow. I know. It seemed like her staff really stepped up to help the community.
Alexis Millikin: Fred's has always been a huge part of the community. So to me, it was just like a small thing. And Mylene has been here for however many years. She's always been a huge part of the community. For them, it was nice for them to see a familiar face.
EGG: When I was at Fred's, it was really easy to forget that the community was struggling with mass power outages.
TS: So when can Roscommon County expect full restoration?
EGG: Outage numbers are actually going down as we speak. And I believe full restoration is expected, by the end of the week. I talked to someone from Consumers yesterday and they said that it was a really big day. There was 600 crews out restoring power in Roscommon County. They had forestry crews clearing trees and getting those out of the way as well. When I was there, about half the county had power back. And I know that number has significantly decreased overnight.
TS: I'm sure residents are taking things day by day, but what do the next few days look like for folks in Roscommon County.
EGG: Yeah, I know some residents are concerned that more trees are going to fall once the ice melts and temperatures warm up. But right now, the county seems focused on getting residents the things they need, like oxygen and food. The county just posted today that there's oxygen tank refills available at the health park in Houghton Lake. And there's free meals at churches and food pantries. And there's even volunteers delivering food out to families who can't get to it otherwise. From what I witnessed on Wednesday, this community will be resilient no matter what problems arise following the recovery of the storm.
TS: Well, Emma, thank you so much for taking that icy trip to Roscommon County. And thanks for your reporting on this.
EGG: Absolutely. Thanks, Tina.
