Storms blamed in 1 death, 191,000 blackouts

A Kent County man died Monday after a tree fell over during severe thunderstorms that generated winds of 80 mph and knocked out power to at least 191,000 homes and businesses, authorities said. The 38-year-old man was trapped on a porch Monday morning in Cutlerville, south of Grand Rapids. Thunderstorms moved across southern Michigan, prompting warnings from the National Weather Service. In Holland, winds of about 80 mph were reported and a police cruiser was hit by a fallen tree. The officer was not hurt.

AP Wire

Jul 12, 2011

In Muskegon County’s Muskegon Township, a tree crushed a 1927 Ford Model T.

About 121,000 CMS Energy Corp. customers lost service in the storms, and about 62,000 remained blacked out at 9 p.m. Monday, said spokesman Tim Pietryga. He said a few customers in hard-hit areas of Kalamazoo, Kent and Muskegon counties would have to wait until Thursday to get their power back.

About 70,000 DTE Energy Co. customers lost power in Monday’s storms, spokesman Scott Simons said. He said about 54,000 remained without service at 9 p.m. Service restoration is expected to extend into Wednesday.

The storms hit as southern Michigan was already seeing a dangerous mix of high temperatures and high humidity. The city of Detroit opened cooling centers in response.

“The storms came through early enough to keep us from getting too hot,” Steve Considine, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, told AnnArbor.com.

Lightning was suspected in fires that hit an apartment complex in Fenton and a house in Livingston County’s Brighton Township.

Two families were displaced by fire damage to their units at Silver Lake Hills, The Flint Journal reported.

Five area departments helped battle a blaze that heavily damaged the Livingston County home, according to WHMI-FM.