Metro Detroit struggles with power outages, storm damage after severe weather

BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — The village of Beverly Hills remained under a state of emergency on Friday, dealing with widespread power outages and significant tree damage from Wednesday’s storm.

The Beverly Hills Police Department closed a portion of Beverly Road west of Southfield Road so crews could continue clearing the roadway and removing dangerous limbs.

“We really thought it was a tornado, just terrifying. It is a disaster zone here,” said Beverly Hills resident Stacie Millichamp.

It has kept Millichamp and her neighbors in clean-up mode for the last 48 hours, trimming trees and bringing branches to the curb so they can be chipped in the coming weeks.

“We cleaned up the street as much as we could, trying to be able to get safety trucks through and DTE trucks through,”  Millichamp said. “It’s been very challenging, but the community’s been great. Everybody’s been pulling together and helping each other out.”

A portion of 13 Mile Road between Southfield and Evergreen remains closed due to a snapped power line.

The Trail at Beverly Park is temporarily closed because downed trees and limbs are scattered across the park.

“As soon as the storm happened, we had crews out and about assessing the damage starting to clear the roads. Thereafter, DTE was there a couple of hours after starting to assess the damage,” said Village Manager Jeff Campbell.

Village leaders said that weather permitting, DTE anticipates restoring power to almost all residents by Saturday. At least 100 power crews are in the area.

“We just basically lost limbs here and there. That’s it for us. We got lucky,” said resident Bill Donnelly.  

Under the state of emergency, cars cannot park on the street to help crews access power lines and trees safely.

In the coming days, the village will determine how much the state and federal government can contribute to cleanup costs.