PORTAGE..MICH — Residents in Portage are cleaning up after powerful storms swept through the area on Thursday night, leaving behind downed trees and power lines.
One homeowner, Carla Cook, was inside her house when a large tree crashed down, bringing power lines with it. "All of a sudden it got real quiet, and then the wind sounded like it was gonna lift a roof off," Cook said.
Cook said she waited until this morning to survey the damage, wary of the downed power lines. "I didn't come out until this morning to look and see the damage, just because of down lines and things I could see, the one from my bedroom over there that was lying on the roof, and so I thought, 'better not go out,'" she explained.
The fallen tree and power lines kept Cook confined to her home for a time after the storm. "I was planning on doing years work, not this much, but planning on doing some mowing and stuff today. And that's all, all on hold for now," she said.
The damage wasn't limited to Cook's front yard. "I have a tree in the backyard that took out my fence, one of the neighbor's trees that goes almost the entire width of our property back there," she said.
Despite the extensive damage, Cook remained optimistic about her garden: "Over half of it survived so I think we will be fine."
Looking ahead, Cook said she's most looking forward to "a nice shower and some supper" after dealing with the aftermath of the storm. As for yard clean-up and insurance claims, those tasks will have to wait until Monday.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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