Muskegon County seeks emergency declaration after storms

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Muskegon County has declared a state of emergency two days after severe storms caused damage, power outages and road closures.

“I hereby declare that a state of emergency exists within our jurisdiction as of June 25, 2024 and that local resources are being utilized to the fullest extent possible,” said Muskegon County Board of Commissioners Chair Charles Nash during a news conference. “The response and recovery elements of our emergency operations plan have been activated.”

Thursday afternoon, two days after storms ripped through the area leaving a tangle of downed trees and power lines, over 5,000 people remained without power in Muskegon County.

Consumers Energy crews have restored power to 18,000 customers in the last 24 hours, according to Norman Kapala, Vice President of General Operations at Consumers Energy. He expected to have power returned to the “vast majority” of customers restored by the end of Thursday.

“We will be here until the last customer is restored,” Kapala said.

Renee Gavin, county emergency manager, said teams were out in neighborhoods assessing damage. She recommended residents report their own damage through a self-reporting survey link the county shared on social media . If you are without power and cannot access the survey, you can call 211 and someone can fill it out for you.

The emergency declaration will help open avenues for funding and resources, Gavin said.
Norton Shores Fire Chief Robert Gagnon said crews are working hard and assisting staff doing the emergency assessments.

Andrew Nichols with the Muskegon County Road Commission showed a map of open and closed roads during the news conference. While the county began with 67 miles of impassible roads, there are now only 4 or 5 miles and crews are “working around the clock” to fix them, he said.

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