(STURGIS) - Storms that moved through Sturgis late Thursday night have impacted the City.
Sturgis City Manager Andrew Kuk says the storm has affected City street access and electrical services which is expected to continue throughout Friday as crews work to clean up downed limbs and power lines as well as restore electrical service.
Kuk is asking City residents to please exercise caution and stay off of roads and remain at home unless necessary, as crews continue to complete cleanup work. Many downed trees have power lines entangled with them and crews are working to respond and address these issues.
If you see a downed line anywhere, please do not touch it and stay at least 25 feet away if possible. If the line is in a public street, City crews are identifying and addressing these; you do not need to report them. If you have a downed line on your property, please report it through the outage line at 269-659-7255.
Kuk says roadways throughout town are impacted by downed trees and lines. Crews are closing streets to through traffic in certain locations as crews work to fix issues. Residents are asked to use caution when moving through the city and to avoid areas and find alternate routes where streets are impacted if they need to be on the road. Motorists are reminded that any intersection controlled by a stoplight without power should be treated as a four-way stop.
Electric outages are impacting at least 3,000 customers and crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible. Kuk says there are no current estimates for restoration of power for specific areas, but outages could last into and through the weekend, particularly in smaller pockets where service lines into houses are damaged. More information will be forthcoming on restoration of service in these cases.
Kuk says the City thanks the community for their patience as crews work to restore power and clear roadways.