Generators A Hot Commodity In Bloomfield As Power Outage Continues

James Ison knew Thursday that he was in for a few long days.

Once he felt the storms blow through early in the morning and heard about the widespread power outages, the assistant manager at the Bloomfield Township anticipated his staff would be getting a lot of calls.

Early on, the demand was mostly from residents or landscaping contractors in need of chainsaws, chippers, and other yard tools people need to deal with the dozens of trees authorities said were downed by high winds. But as searing temperatures started to rise as the day moved on, the focus turned to the store's air conditioners and power generators.

By noon, Ison said all the store's AC units were gone and just five generators remained. And those didn't last long.

"From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the phones were just lit up with calls, and they were all about generators," Sholanda, a Lowe's associate, told Ison as he started the afternoon shift. "People aren't getting here fast enough."

The timeline coincided with an announcement by DTE Energy officials that . Most are coping, either with their own power generators, or taking refuge at places like the Bloomfield Township Library. Temperatures will continue to surge toward and possibly above 100 degrees today, for the fifth consecutive day.

"With this continued heatwave and people being told it's going to be awhile, it's no surprise we're seeing a demand for water, large coolers and other things people need for lon periods of time," Ison said.

Although more generators are on priority order, Ison said the closest Lowe's with generators were in Toledo and Lansing late Thursday.

Relief in Sight?

According to DTE, The largest areas impacted in Bloomfield Township continue to be west of Telegraph Road between Lone Pine and Maple roads, and Lone Pine and Hickory Grove roads.

About 260 customers located on both sides of Telegraph Road south of Long Lake Road are slated to have power returned by late tonight, DTE Energy reports. Another pocket of 315 customers in the area of Lahser and Quarton roads are also expected to get power tonight, but the remaining are set for Saturday and beyond, barring any more bad weather, DTE spokeswoman Eileen Dixon said.

Bloomfield Township government offices, which are typically closed on Friday, are still without telephone service, but residents with questions are encouraged to call the at 248-644-4200 and they will be delivered to township officials.

The Bloomfield Township Senior Services Center remained closed today due to the outage, but Meals on Wheels services will still continue as scheduled through Friday. Residents are encouraged to call 248-723-3500 for updates.

In Bloomfield Hills, the power is still out for nearly 900 residents in the area east of Woodward Avenue near Long Lake, according to the DTE Outage Map.

In nearby Beverly Hills, a large large section of the Village between Evergreen and Lahser roads remains without power this afternoon, but could be restored by this evening, according to an e-mail alert. The Village advises those who will be without power for an extended period take precautions against the high temperatures and check on neighbors and friends throughout the day. All are police, fire and public safety departments have generators and are available by calling 9-1-1 in an emergency.

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