FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — With an ice storm bearing down on parts of metro Detroit, it's time to replace, restock and prepare.
“My other one broke so I got a new one,” said Richard Waterman holding his new ice scraper.
WXYZ’s Glenda Lewis replied, “So you just get the little things you need to prepare and stay safe?”
“Exactly,” said Waterman.
We met Richard Waterman as he was leaving Great Lakes ACE Hardware on Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills where safety measures are stacking up.
“We call them our red vested heroes, our store associates that are here every day taking care of people,” said Ben Nelson from Great Lakes ACE Hardware.
For more than four decades the hardware store has been home to people looking to prepare their homes for tough winter weather.
“Do you sell more of anything during these times?” asked Lewis.
“Uh... Definitely, generators," said Nelson.
“Do you have a rush when this kind of weather new approaches,” asked Lewis.
“Unfortunately, yes, and, unfortunately, it’s usually after the power is already out. We will be here. Store still runs because we know people in the neighborhood still need us,” said Nelson. "We keep a close eye on DTE outage maps, close eye on where the service areas are so we can get generators and stuff like that to where people need them most.”
“This system is a bit tricky. A degree or two can mean the difference between rain and ice and so this is one of the more difficult to predict,” said Matt Paul Executive VP of DTE Distribution Operations. “A half inch of ice on our wire is equivalent to a baby grand piano.”
DTE held a video press conference today detailing their preparation and plans for the ice storm expected to slow down parts of metro Detroit.
“We've got several hundred public safety teams ready to go and approximately 1,500 line workers including several hundred from other states going to be arriving tomorrow,” said Paul.
“Do you have any major concerns and if so what areas?” asked Lewis.
“We've been watching this system for several days and, we believe, it's going to bring with it a combination of snow, sleet, rain, and high winds,” said Paul. “High winds coming in on Thursday and that’ is going to cause a lot of damage.”
If you ask Brett Anchill and his family of 5, whose family business is Anco Maintenance, they got rid of their 25 snowplow trucks this year. Too much hassle.
“Now we got this major ice storm coming and it’s going to be a big one,” said Brett Anchill. “Lotta work. It’s a headache and we haven’t really any snow this year.”
