Detroit's University District makes due amid power outage as 126K DTE customers remain in dark

DETROIT (FOX 2) - There are about 126,000 DTE customers still without power as of Wednesday night as crews swarm the area working to restore service.

In Detroit people living in the University District have been without power since severe weather ripped through the area Monday night.

One resident, Ava Aubrey, can't cook food from her freezer, so she’s giving it all to her nephew who does have electricity.

"I’ve got mostaccioli, chicken, just all unthawed so it has to be cooked now," she said.

The storms left giant tree branches toppled, with some snapped like matchsticks.

"The tree fell down on the roof of my sunroom, it went through the lawn chairs and destroyed those," said Jim Orlando, another resident.

More: See the DTE Outage Map here.

And the timing of it all couldn’t be worse.

"It was a bit of a trauma here going through this disaster while trying to get ready for the home tour," Orlando added.

The University District Historic Home Tour is just a little over a week away and Jim Orlando’s home is one of seven featured in the tour.

"It’s just been quiet, you know," Aubrey quipped.

Related: What caused Monday's power outage? DTE says trees not in its 'right-of-way'

"It’s been kind of rough but we’ve been able to make it because we do have solar power and that was working until that cut off," said Wesley Stevens.

"It’s just been I think a little irritating but not aggravating if you know what I mean," said Cassandra Spratling Odetoyinbo.

More: How to apply for reimbursement from DTE, Consumers Energy

Residents say they are making the best of it and added that the saving grace has been mild temperatures. 

Monday's storms brought large trees down in Detroit's University District.