WEST MICHIGAN - Thousands of people are still in the dark after last night's severe weather. Consumers Energy has even transferred employees from out of state to keep up with the demand.
Sunday's stint of severe weather initially affected nearly 150,000 customers. That number has dropped to roughly 90,000 customers. Consumers Energy spokesperson, Roger Morgenstern said the scattered nature of the outages will leave some people in the dark until Thursday.
"The main thing was wind and the lightning. Outages in Kent County were reported before the storm even hit because we have wind gusts up to 50-60 mph," said Morgenstern.
Families we spoke with in Holton and Grand Rapids Township were forced to buy generators after being left without electricity, some even missing work because of the inconvenience.
"We lit candles and we had a little camp out in the living room together," said Sandra Pow of Grand Rapids Twp. "As far as the inconvenience of our refrigerator, we're going to have to take everything out and buy new food."
Morgenstern understands the inconvenient circumstances left behind in wake of the storm, sending 1,600 employees working across the state Monday. Meanwhile, local businesses are forced to work in the dark using flashlights and lanterns to help customers find batteries and other items helping, 'weather the storm'.
Jennifer Humphrey, Owner of Craig's Holton Hardware, has been doing everything by hand since the storm left her store without power.
"We use a calculator to figure out the tax and we take every note by hand then open up the cash drawer, and we make our own change so it's a good thing we know how to do that," said Humphrey.
If you're concerened about the extensive power outage you can call emergency management officials at 211, there you can find assistance for cooling centers or shelters if needed.
