City of Portage declares a state of emergency
PORTAGE, Mich. — The City of Portage joined the City of Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo County in declaring a state of emergency Friday.
The declaration comes after a historic, severe ice storm moved through West Michigan Wednesday.
- Kalamazoo County: declares a State of Emergency
Due to the storm, the city's resources to fully respond and recover were exhausted, Portage city officials said.
Additionally, expenses associated with emergency response and subsequent clean up are expected to be significant, and were not not "programmed" in the city's annual budget, according to the city.
By formalizing the emergency declaration, the city can seek help from the State in offsetting the cost of managing the emergency and clean up, city officials said.
- Consumers Energy: Majority of power could be restored Sunday evening
As of Friday, Consumers Energy crews continue to work to restore power to many homes in West Michigan.
Power has been restored to 80,000 customers as of noon Friday, according to Gregory Salisbury, vice president of electric distribution engineering at Consumers Energy.
A majority of customers can expect power to be restored by Sunday evening, and work should be largely complete by the end of the day Monday, Christopher Laird, Vice President of Electric Operations at Consumers Energy, said.
