Six days with no power for some Dearborn Heights residents

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - Tens of thousands of DTE Energy customers are still waiting for their power to be restored - and many say they were told it would be back on by midnight Monday. But then Mother Nature threw another curve ball with the latest round of winter weather.

As of 6 a.m. Monday, 7,000 customers are still without power after Wednesday's wind storm. DTE says regretfully, the snow and icy road conditions got in the way of their restoration efforts Monday. 

Frustration is now the theme in a Dearborn Heights mobile home park when residents look outside and see a street light, only to be shivering inside wondering when the lights will turn back on. And for some, they are wondering how much longer than can take this.

"It wouldn't be so bad if it was warmer out," said one resident.

Its cold and getting colder. Roughly 100 units are in the dark at Riverside Properties on Outer Drive. A handful of people attempted to tough it out with a generator.

"That's just for a light and charge your phone," said one man. "That's all it can run."

FOX 2 was on hand as police did welfare checks Monday night. A lot of elderly on fixed on income are there without heat. 

"They are sleeping in their car, slumped over. We didn't know if they were alive or not," said Samantha, a resident. "I thought they were dead; we made sure they were ok."

Adding to the frustration is a perceived lack of information or even wrong information.

"They are telling you, you have your power on when you are sitting there in the dark," said one man. "And no one came out to look at the power line that is down."

A contractor with DTE came out while FOX 2 was there and found the issue, roping off a live wire until another crew could come out and repair the work.

"All they tell you it's by 11:30 tonight it will be on," said one man. "We've been hearing that for three days already."

The problems don't stop there. The cold temps caused some pipes to freeze. The owner of the property said some units are flooded and that water is starting to freeze.

FOX 2 went inside one of the units and while the thermometer was set at 70, the real temperature was 33 degrees and falling. The resident staying there says this will be the last night he stay there. If it is still out in the morning he'll find a hotel.