Thousands remain without power more than 10 days after Northern Michigan ice storm
A long recovery remains ahead for the Northern Lower Michigan communities that were hit by an ice storm during the weekend of March 28-30.
Some students will have had at least two weeks off school once they return, and thousands of residents still do not have power.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency March 31 with an update April 1 to direct state resources toward response and recovery efforts. The following Michigan counties are included in those orders: Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alcona, Antrim and Alpena.
Presque Isle Electric & Gas company, which serves an area from Cheboygan County through Oscoda County, says over 10,000 of its customers remained without power as of Tuesday. And Great Lakes Energy, which serves customers in the Gaylord and Grayling areas, still had 12,000 customers without power as of Wednesday.
Gaylord Community Schools posted a note that Monday is the earliest its students will be back in session – and even that decision will not be announced until Friday.
The problem is "ongoing concerns about the safety of student drop-off and pick-up routes, as well as our current inability to maintain consistent communication," the district explained in a message on its website.
The State of Michigan has posted an interactive map showing which local roads have reopened to traffic.
In the meantime, public trails in 12 northern Michigan counties remain closed to public use.
Another problem is that access to many state forest sites designated for spring 2025 tree plantings remain inaccessible, the Forest Resources Division at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported.
"State and natural forest resources in northern Michigan have been significantly impacted. With many trees down or broken, the road to recovery will be long," the DNR said in a press release issued Tuesday.
