The Brighton DPW is being praised for its quick response to the thunderstorms that produced massive power outages two weeks ago. At Thursday night’s City Council meeting, several council members complimented the Department of Public Works and director Marcel Goch for their coordinated response to the severe storms on July 19th and 20th that knocked out power to a large section of the city of Brighton - a few areas for up to six days.

Goch says that over 20 trees toppled onto city streets by the ferocity of the storm and winds. Goch tells WHMI that crews had to keep shifting from one area of town to another to set up portable generators to keep power for city services such as sewer, and remove trees and limbs that had blocked city streets.

Statewide, according to DTE and Consumers Energy, about 800,000 residential and business customers were without power for extended periods due to the storms, which hit in two waves - the first on Friday, July 19th, and the second, on Saturday, the 20th. DTE said the storms that blew through southeastern Michigan wreaked havoc and comprised the second-largest storm in the company's history. More than 1,100 DTE employees, 950 out-of-state line workers and 800 tree-trimming crews worked 16-hour shifts around the clock in order to restore power.(TT)