Western Oakland County hit hard by Tuesday's storms
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Oakland County was not spared by Tuesday's fierce storms with large sections left in the dark tonight.
In Rochester Hills numerous power poles were taken down as DTE work crews blanketed the area. An additional 800 crews from outside the area are pitching in. More than 200,000 DTE customers were without power as of Tuesday evening.
Livernois and Avon Roads in Rochester Hills, looked like a war zone after Mother Nature opened fire.
"It sounded like bang, bang, bang," said one man. "I didn’t know what it was until I came out and saw all these power poles snapped."
About five power poles in total were ripped up and knocked over, appearing to turn out the lights at scores of homes in the area.
It threw off one man who did not want to appear on camera.
"I thought it was a transformer," the witness said.
A little over 10 minutes away there was a monster mess in Auburn Hills. A toppled tree covering the road leading into a neighborhood off of Adams.
Police secured the scene so crews can eventually cut it up and make the road passable again.
Related: Downed power lines found across Macomb County after bands of power storms roll through
Severe storm aftermath: More than 200K without power
More than 200,000 customers are without power according to DTE Energy as power outages impact the area.
And in nearly 20 minutes from there in Birmingham, it began with the sound of something wicked on the way.
"At first I heard a loud gust of wind and then I heard the trees just crack and come down," said Ben Gretchko.
Gretchko, a FOX 2 writer and producer, found his car was now a casualty of the storm - with a large tree on top of it on South Glenhurst Drive near Lincoln.
"You never think you are going to be impacted," he said. "You see other people impacted and you never think it’s going to be you. And then it happens and it’s you."
Then again, it could have been much worse.
"At least thankfully the car is not totally damaged but we will figure it out," he said.
A calvary of insurance adjusters might be needed once daylight descends in the morning.
DTE has a reminder to remain at least 25 feet away from downed power lines or anything in contact with them. Assume any downed line is live and dangerous.
