Hundreds of miles of roads cleared, communications protected
Clearing tree debris to reopen roads and gain access to communication towers has been mission number one for the Michigan Department Natural Resources Incident Management Team following the recent massive ice storm in northern Michigan.
In its first five days on the ground, the team, working with the Michigan National Guard and many other cooperators, put public safety first as hundreds of miles of roads were cleared in the 12-county area hit hardest by the storm.
“Our crews have been working from early in the morning until sunset to clear trees, branches and brush to make sure emergency vehicles can access roads in case people need help,” said Mike Janisse, Incident Commander.
“We currently have 15 crews in the field who are continuing to work in some of the hardest hit counties. They’ve pushed through wind, rain, slush, snow, and even more ice to help make life a little easier for people who have been hit hard by this storm.”
Working with multiple agencies, the team has cleared nearly 500 miles of roadway since the storm response began April 2.
Keeping communication open
The Office of Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System – the state’s radio system used by more than 2,600 public safety agencies around the state – had access to its emergency communications sites impacted by the storm. Action had to be taken immediately.
“Gaining access to the state radio communications sites was a high priority to ensure 911, state and local law enforcement, fire departments, hospitals, and other public safety agencies could continue to communicate without anything critical being lost or not available,” Bradley Stoddard, Director, Office of Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System said.
“If power goes out at an emergency communications tower, it is imperative that crews can get in to complete critical maintenance and damage assessment.”
The Incident Management Team and cooperators were able to provide that access by removing debris blocking the roads to the towers. Thirty-three of the Michigan Public Safety Communications System towers have been cleared by the team. All 13 cellular towers assigned to the team have also been cleared.
Ongoing work
The team continues storm response work in six counties: Cheboygan, Emmet, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle. There are also plans in the works to ferry a team to Beaver Island starting Tuesday, April 8.
For an up-to-date list of state parks and trails that are currently closed, go to Michigan.gov/DNRClosures.
Learn more about resources available for those affected by the ice storm by visiting Michigan.gov/IceStorm.
