Winds leave Berrien County a mess
Posted: Sep 30, 2011 10:29 PM EDT | Updated: Nov 6, 2014 9:31 AM EDT
SAINT JOSEPH TOWNSHIP, Mich - Winds whipped off the lake early Friday bringing down countless limbs and trees. As of 6 p.m. Friday, just under 12,000 Indiana Michigan Power customers in Berrien County were still without power. According to Indiana Michigan Power spokesperson, David Mayne, power outages were focused along the coast between Bridgman and Hagar Township.
Joey Love Diaz was in his Saint Joseph Township home early Friday morning and recalls the worst of the storm coming in around 1 a.m. "All of a sudden kaboom, power went down and things started blowing," Diaz said. "I thought our tree was coming down but it was just our fence... not fun."
All along the coast trees, branches and leaves were on the ground. Cleveland Avenue, Linco Road and Glenlord Road were some of the larger streets closed early Friday in the northern portion of the county.
"When I saw the tree, I couldn't believe it," says Dave Mitchell. A large tree fell outside his home on Maiden Lane in St Joseph Township across the street from Upton Middle School.
Mitchell is counting his blessings even if there is plenty of clean-up in his yard. The tree uprooted and fell right next to his brand new car. "It's a blessing it didn't hurt the car or anything. I think the only thing it hurt was the mailbox," says Mitchell
The tree did take power lines to his house and the rest of the block. Mitchell still has at least two days before he can turn the lights back on. "We don't know if we’re going to tough it out or stay in a hotel."
Power updates can be found here