Storm damage leaves downed wires on the east side, including St. Clair Shores
FOX 2 was also able to see in our interview that a harmless-looking down cable can pose a great danger.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) – The fast-moving storms brought heavy rains and strong winds, causing power outages and tree deaths. The skies were dark and the rain streaks made driving difficult.
Joseph Smith was caught in a storm while at work.
“I got a call from the woman here in Shelby Township. She said there was a storm coming and she sounded scared,” he said.
Smith packed her things and headed home. Then she discovered why she was a little scared.
“There were fallen branches everywhere,” he said. “And as I drove onto Lakeshore Drive, I noticed bigger trees and bigger branches. On the way from there, I got stuck in the residential areas because no matter where you went, there were fallen trees on the road blocking your way.”
Cleanup was already well underway when FOX 2 headed south from Shelby Township to St. Clair Shores – and encountered a family dealing with an impromptu and dangerous electrical show right outside their window.
“There was an electrical fire, a cable was blown down by the wind and caught fire. Luckily it didn’t hit our house,” said Kayla Freeman.
The wild and frightening display was enough to prompt a visit from the fire department.
“It’s an electrical fire, which is very dangerous, so they didn’t put it out. They said it wouldn’t hit the house, but they came and made sure we were OK,” Kayla said.
For a few teenagers, that was a lot to process.
“I was pretty nervous when it happened, but after a while I calmed down,” said Eli Freeman. “And I’m fine.”
Further storm coverage:
During our interview, FOX 2 was also able to see for themselves that a harmless-looking down cable can actually be extremely dangerous.
“I want to thank the firefighters and police for keeping us safe and I hope everyone else is OK,” Kayla said.
At least 200,000 DTE Energy customers are in the dark tonight. CLICK HERE to view the outage map and report downed lines or outages.
DTE urges everyone to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines or objects that come in contact with them. Assume that any downed line is live and dangerous.
Photo and video courtesy of the Freeman family.
