Sunday, August 19, 2012
Approximately 8,000 consumers impacted by outages following a July 17 substation fire will receive $25 to $250 off their bills, spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said.
DTE Energy will give approximately 8,000 customers credits on their bills following a July 17 substation fire that knocked out power to 10,000 customers in Berkley and Royal Oak during record-setting heat. The credits will be for $25 to $250, depending on the length of the customer's outage, said DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, who added all eligible customers have been contacted via a recorded phone message. Anyone with questions can call 313-235-4141, he said. The July 17 equipment failure in Royal Oak that caused the fire was so intense it blew out a window and a door several feet away in the substation, Royal Oak Fire Marshall Fire Marshal Tom Nikkila said. "It was a high-heat fire," he said. "It was quite an event. "I am not an …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The utility improves its service restoration estimate after a substation fire Tuesday night knocked out power to 10,000 in Berkley and Royal Oak, but more than 300 new outages cropped up Wednesday afternoon in Berkley.
Updated, 4:50 p.m.: DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said the utility has increased the number of customers it expects will have power restored tonight. "The repair process is going very well," he said, referring to fixes that had to made after a fire at a Royal Oak substation took out service to 10,000 DTE customers in Royal Oak and Berkley on Tuesday night. "By the end of the evening, we fully expect to have 6,500 customers that were impacted Tuesday back up online." That leaves 3,500 consumers without power until sometime tomorrow, he said. Earlier Wednesday, Bodipo-Memba had said 5,000 customers in Royal Oak and Berkley could be without power until Thursday as DTE crews worked to find options for them. He said the majority of …
Hey Michigan—Arizona called and wants its weather back. Ha! Record temperatures Tuesday in Michigan had everybody sweating and talking about this summer's unusually hot weather. What did you think? Will August be this bad?
This has been the hottest summer in a long time. Temperatures hit 101 degrees Tuesday in southeast Michigan, and an excessive heat warning was issued for the region. At 7 p.m. it was still 100 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The Detroit Free Press reported that Tuesday was the hottest July 17 in Metro Detroit since 1887. The hottest day on record for the region is 105 degrees. That record was hit on July 24, 1934. The scorching temperatures played havoc with DTE's electrical system Tuesday, causing hundreds of customers in Huntington Woods to lose power. The good news? The NWS says a cold front from the north will slowly drop through southeast Michigan by early Wednesday morning. It'll be windy, but cooler! Look for …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
DTE attributes Tuesday's outages to record-high temperatures and a substation fire.
Hundreds of DTE Energy customers in Huntington Woods lost power Tuesday afternoon as scorching temperatures played havoc with the utility's electrical system and, just as those outages were resolved, more than 1,000 occurred in Berkley after a substation fire. In a reversal of fortunes, DTE's outage map showed that 1,719 customers in Berkley were without power near midnight and only two were impacted by outages in Huntington Woods. DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said the Berkley outages began at approximately 10:20 p.m. after a fire at a substation. He said the utility did not know what caused the fire, but that service to approximately 10,000 customers in Berkley and Royal Oak had to be taken down to allow for a safe investigation…
The National Weather Service says temperatures Tuesday in southeast Michigan are expected to reach 100 degrees, but could feel as high as 107.
Another potentially record-breaking day is headed our way. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for southeastern Michigan Tuesday, as temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees during the afternoon. It's not expected to be excessively humid, but dew points in the mid-60s could make it feel like it's anywhere from 102 to 107 degrees outside. The good news is there's a cold front coming in that should provide some relief from what NWS calls "dangerous heat" for the rest of the week. However, the excessive heat watch remains in effect all day Tuesday and NWS recommends that people drink plenty of fluids, stay in air conditioned rooms, stay out of the sun, and check on relatives and neighbors. Heat-related …
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Monday will be sunny with a high near 93 degrees and Tuesday even hotter, with a high of 100 degrees and more sun expected in Berkley and Huntington Woods, the forecasting agency says.
The National Weather Service has issued an air quality alert for Monday covering southeast Michigan, with sunny skies and searing temperatures in the forecast for the beginning of the week. People and businesses are urged to avoid activities that lead to the formation of ozone, including: "Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms. Depending on where it is in the atmosphere, ozone affects life on Earth in either good or bad ways," according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website. "Tropospheric, or ground-level, ozone forms primarily from reactions between two major classes of air pollutants: volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These reactions depend on the presence of heat …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The city will make an emergency disaster declaration through the state of Michigan after powerful winds downed trees and knocked out power last week, requiring overtime payments and assistance clearing branches.
Cleaning up after storms that tore through southeast Michigan last week, leaving power outages and downed trees in their path, has been costly for Huntington Woods. The city had to deploy workers on overtime as well as tap Wonsey Tree Service of Berkley to clean up after a series of weather events beginning with a severe thunderstorm on Fourth of July that knocked out power to much of the city. "At one time, eighty to ninety percent of the city didn't have power, which is just about the hardest we've ever been hit," City Manager Alex Allie said. "I just hope these storms aren't the new normal," Allie said, referencing wild weather experienced throughout the Midwest this spring and summer. "It seems like we're just getting hammered." Last …
42.488691
-83.175634
Huntington Woods Department of Public Works (DPW)
12795 11 Mile Road, Huntington Woods, MI
/articles/huntington-woods-tallies-storm-cleanup-tab
1724175
/locations/7398835
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Here's what happened in and around Berkley and Huntington Woods.
We shared a lot of good information last week and want to make sure you didn't miss a thing, so here are some highlights:
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The high today will be 95 degrees, with a heat index value approaching 101 degrees, but conditions should cool Sunday.
This weekend is going to start off on a hot note. According to the National Weather Service, Saturday's temperatures will approach 95 degrees, with a heat index value as high as 101 degrees. There is a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms and rain, though mostly in the afternoon. So, if you're heading to the Oakland County Fair, which opened yesterday in Davisburg, or if you're going to the Royal Oak Outdoor Art Fair at 13 Mile and Woodward, make sure you bring plenty of water and take breaks in the shade. The chance of thunderstorms continues Saturday night, with a 40 percent chance of precipitation. Temperatures will dip down to 69 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. On Sunday, it will be much cooler. The high will be 82 degrees under …
Friday, July 6, 2012
Folks working outdoors and at the grill this week in Berkley and Huntington Woods bore the brunt of temperatures hovering near 100 degrees.
You think you're hot, darting from the car to the office or even toughing it out at home without air conditioning? Try working outside or in front of a grill during a heat wave. Despite temperatures soaring toward the 100-degree mark, workers in Berkley and Huntington Woods were on the job delivering mail, mowing lawns, moving furniture and grilling up burgers Friday. "Our business is very close to Ellie's (Euro-American Grill) and (Becky's Nip N' Tuck Diner). These local cooks have spent long days 8-12 over hot grills serving us, and I just thought it might be cool to acknowledge them," reader Joseph Kunz e-mailed Berkley Patch on Friday. "During this outage, especially people like me who work 14 hours days are very thankful for their …
42.488701
-83.189983
Becky's Nip N' Tuck Diner
3170 11 Mile Rd, Berkley, MI
/articles/photos-workers-sweat-it-out-in-the-heat
707448
/locations/7385055
42.49133
-83.18346
Ellie's Euro-American Grill
2033 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley, MI
/articles/photos-workers-sweat-it-out-in-the-heat
707498
/locations/7385056
Kevin Moser
1:38 pm on Monday, October 15, 2012
I am little more concerned of increases in loss of power over the past few years. I, like many have a freezer and quite honestly, $250.00 would not cover my loss. My concern grows with increased number of garage and house fires along with some blocks south of Catalpa that actually had wires melt. I fear infrastructure is giving away which could lead to larger outages with higher risks related to … more ›