CLARE COUNTY — Driving through Clare County is painting a picture of downed trees and power lines as people struggle to survive without having any power.
As people wait for power, some are forced to reach for generators they have never used before. Tim Sentz, who lives in Farwell, says that the generator he is using was bought 2 years ago, and this is the first time he has used it since then. He adds that the reason he waited so long was because typically the power comes back sooner. Tim has been without power since Friday, and during the time he didn’t use a generator, he used a propane heater.
In Clare, one family woke up to find not only they had no power, but a tree on the roof. Jennifer Patte told us that she was sleeping in bed when she and her husband woke up to the sound of a crash. She said “I jumped up, freaking out, and something crashed through my living room, not thinking a tree fell and we couldn’t walk out the door. It was all branches all in front. My husband had to hang out the windows, start cutting it with a chainsaw so we could get out the door again.” Jennifer said that their generator was buried in a shed, and struggled to get it running, especially because she hasn’t lost power in nearly nine years. She said that the generator eats at gas and keeps going out. They also have to pick and choose what they connect to the power.
Just outside Farwell, Sydney Revoldt says her family has been without power since Saturday and were supposed to already have power back. She said that the power company told her the power was back at 2:30pm, and she had to send an email and tell them they were wrong.
Right now, her husband has had to miss work because he needs to watch their generator. They have also been forced to turn it off at night. Sydney said “We don’t keep it on consistently because, well, it’s got to be filled with gas, and that takes time. And I don’t like to leave it on while we’re sleeping because. Just in case.” she added “We have like a little propane heater, one of the sunflower ones. And it keeps it around like 56. Which is a lot better than it was this morning at 42.”
While many people do have generators or some form of staying warm, they are still uncertain of when they will actually get their power back.