Volume 2, Issue 5 JUNE 28, 2024
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A wall of storms wreaked havoc on Oceana County and surrounding communities early Tuesday morning, causing widespread power outages and much damage. Shelby was hit hard by the storms, with a number of trees down in Mt. Hope Cemetery, above left; trees and power lines down across Woodrow Road, above center; and an enormous tree fell over in front of Harris Funeral Home, taking a portion of the sidewalk with it, above right. Several businesses across the area closed, while emergency personnel, workers and residents cleaned up in the aftermath. • Amanda Dodge/Echo
Oceana County suffers widespread damage from recent storms
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A “tremendous weather event with thunderstorms and widespread damaging winds” tore through Oceana County in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 25, leaving many without power, a number of roads impassable and causing damage to homes and vehicles. The storm that morning moved across Michigan, causing damage and affecting over 150,000 Consumers Energy customers. Many of those were in Oceana County, as well as communities across the Lower Peninsula. According to a press release from the Oceana County Sheriff’s Department, “There are more trees down than we can count, as well as power outages and damage to property. Thankfully, we know of no injuries as a result of the storm. “As of noon on Tuesday, Mason-Oceana 911 had received 563 calls, 400 of them were from 5–8 a.m., many of them as a result of the storm. Our dispatch-
ers at Mason-Oceana 911 did a tremendous job fielding so many calls; prioritizing them; and sending units where they were needed most. “Our Emergency Manager, Troy Maloney, has been in contact with us as well as the other public safety department heads throughout the county. Fire departments throughout Oceana County have been responding to wires down, transformer fire and trees across roadways all night long. We are fortunate to have fire departments with committed members who are always willing to serve. “We are thankful for the great partnerships we have with all of the other public safety agencies including the Oceana County Road Commission, where deputies are able to communicate directly with our road commission supervisors and local municipality’s public works departments.” Consumers Energy and Great Lakes Energy crews worked round the clock to restore power to those af-
fected. “This is a storm that continued to grow in intensity right up until it knocked over trees and power lines in several communities, especially in West Michigan,” said Chris Laird, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge for restoration. “We have been assessing the extent of the damage and are moving every resource that we can into place, ensuring we can get the lights back on for our customers. “The customers who remain without power are in our most challenging areas due to the severity of the storm damage, but we are determined to restore their service safely and as quickly as possible. Our crews are doing all they can to help the communities we care for in the hardest-hit areas of the state. We thank customers for their patience.” Laird said lineworkers are prepared to work 16hour shifts at a time. As of press time Thursday, the majority of Oceana County homes affected by the storms had their power restored.
Color and music abound at Electric ‘rain’ Forest By Ross Field The Oceana Echo Community Contributor The lines of traffic slowly streaming south on US-31 this past Monday signaled that the 2024 Electric Forest had come to an end. This year, Mother Nature may have displayed the biggest fireworks, as the festival grounds were evacuated multiple times over the course of the four-day festival due to extreme weather events. Even with the evacuations, there were still hundreds of amazing shows over the course of the four-day festival. Thursday night, the mighty Dumpstaphunk from New Orleans performed an incredibly funky set to open the massive Carou-
• Contributed Photo
The Shelby High School Marching Band performed in the rain Saturday at the festival. • Brendan Samuels/Echo
sel Club. The horn players from Dumpstaphunk joined the following act, Lettuce, for another rocking set. Friday night, The String Cheese Incident proved why they are one of the most popular acts on the jam band circuit
by ending their concert with a reading of John Coltrane’s “Impressions” that eventually segued into a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” under the Ranch Arena’s massive display of lights. String Cheese Incident’s highly anticipated Sat-
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urday night show was canceled due to extreme weather. One of the joys of the Electric Forest is finding new acts on the smaller stages. Friday’s discovery was FireFlower at the Grand Artique where the Detroit duo
Electric Forest continued on page 9
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