Ferndale DPW Director: 'Worst I've Seen Since '79'

On Saturday night, a storm blew through Ferndale with winds that were clocked at 70 mph. that evening and DTE counted 80 down power lines, while dozens upon dozens of trees and branches fell to the ground.

"This is the worst I've seen since '79," Department of Public Works Director Byron Photiades said Tuesday. "We had an ice storm come through here then ... we were cleaning up debris for three months afterward."

Photiades doesn't anticipate a three-month cleanup for this storm, but said crews will be working through next week to clear debris throughout the city.

There are still about 1,600 customers without power in Ferndale, DTE spokesman Scott Simons said Tuesday. "We have crews out in the community, there's still a lot of heavy damage, fallen trees on power lines," he said. "The vast majority should have power by late tonight."

Simons said Ferndale had 80 down power lines due to the storm.

The Ferndale Fire Department reported no medical calls due to the storm damage. Ferndale Fire Marshal Brian Batten said the department received more than 100 calls for down power lines and there was a minor fire of a structure on the 1500 block of Jarvis when a down line landed on the roof and began smoking. Batten said firefighters were dispatched and quickly put out the incident. "It was very minor," Batten said.

Batten added that if any residents see any down lines that aren't taped off to call 911. "DTE is out working as hard as they can to get the power restored but there are still downed lines," he said. "Be cautious and if they are not taped off call us, we'll come check it out."

Continued clean up in Ferndale

Photiades said the first priority is to clear the right of ways for Ferndale residents. To help with the massive number of fallen trees and branches, DPW has contracted with a private company.

"Northwest and northeast Ferndale were hit the hardest," Photiades said. "Most of the trees are on private property."

Photiades said there isn't an estimate on the number of trees taken down by the storm but it's "quite a few."

Crews have been doing a combination of chipping onsite where the damage is and picking up some brush and taking it to a storage yard. Photiades said crews were working in northeast Ferndale as of Tuesday afternoon. "We'll be out there past 4 p.m., this will continue through next week. This is a lot of damage," he said.

The damage was so great that the Ferndale Public School system postponed the first day of school until Wednesday due to safety issues. “For the safety of our students, we are delaying the opening of school (Sept. 7),” a statement from the school district said.

DTE crews are also out chipping and clearing debris in order to work on down power lines. Simons said DTE tree trimmers and chippers would be out clearing the way for its workers.

Simons said there are still 12,000 throughout the DTE service area without power, down from 120,000. "We have 1,000 people working on the restoration," he said.

This is the 17th storm that has affected DTE customers this summer, Simons said. He said that it was a similar number last year.