A tree fell outside the Grosvenor House Museum Sunday. Courtesy | Facebook
A high-voltage transmission line went down Sunday, cutting off connection to the regional electric grid and causing the entire City of Hillsdale to lose power, according to the city’s Marketing and Economic Development Director Sam Fry.
Fry said the damage to the electric system was relatively minor, with about a half dozen areas seeing downed power lines. The city’s Board of Public Utilities response to such damages depends on the cause of the outage.
“Because we lost our primary power feed, we couldn’t provide enough power to bring everyone back on at the same time,” Fry said. “Instead, we rotated service to provide temporary power where possible. Most customers had power restored for at least a short period during the night.”
According to Fry, restoration efforts during severe weather can be extremely hazardous.
“Lineworkers often work in dangerous conditions — high winds, rain, or at night — while handling high-voltage equipment,” Fry said. “The physical demands and risks are significant, so while we aim to restore service as quickly as possible, crew safety remains our highest priority.”
Michigan residents faced severe weather on Sunday, with high winds leading to four confirmed tornadoes, heavy rain, and ice storms shutting down the Mackinac Bridge. More than 180,000 homes lost power on Sunday night, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
The storm also knocked down a tree outside of the Grosvenor House Museum, which destroyed a glass case outside of the historic building.
As soon as the severe weather warning sounded around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Hillsdale resident William Brownlee and his family went down to their basement.
“It was a quaint sight to see everyone gathered around, sitting on the futon or on the blanket sprawled on the floor,” Brownlee said. “We chatted and munched on snacks while we waited.”
Fry said having a plan is crucial when situations like Sunday’s storm and subsequent power outage occur.
“We encourage residents to not only monitor weather alerts but also to develop a severe weather plan,” Fry said. “This can include assembling an emergency kit, identifying a safe shelter location, making arrangements for those with medical needs, and ensuring flashlights, batteries, and other essentials are easily accessible. Being prepared can make a big difference in staying safe during and after a storm.”
Brownlee said he and his family tried to make the best of their time without power.
“We didn’t know how long the power would be off, so we gathered some flashlights and made our way back to the basement,” Brownlee said. “Even though the worst of the storm was past, it had become cozy in the basement together. It can be refreshing to have our lives interrupted. It causes us to see our lives and relationships in a new light.”
Hillsdale College junior Olivia Finch and her housemates were “hunkering down in the basement” when the power went out.
“As a college student, I was OK because I knew a big storm was coming, so I made sure I had my phone and tablet at 100% before the power went off,” Finch said.
The college’s power was restored Monday morning. Small pockets of Hillsdale County are still without power, according to Consumers Energy’s outage map.
“When the power finally came back on, it was around four in the morning,” Finch said. “I had forgotten to turn my light switch off when the power went out, so the lights all came on in my room at once and woke me up.”
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