Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has not declared a state of emergency in response to the ice storm that left hundreds of thousands without power because there haven't been any formal requests for state assistance, officials said.
In all, roughly 570,000 electric customers lost power since last Saturday, with 51,300 still without power on Friday afternoon, according to Michigan State Police Capt. Chris Kelenske, deputy state director of emergency management and homeland security.
Facing questions about why the governor has not stepped in, Kelenske and Snyder spokesman Dave Murray held a teleconference with reporters on Friday afternoon to explain how and why a state of emergency is declared.
"Disasters are first and foremost local events," Kelenske said. "Most disasters are handled by local government with minimal or no state assistance."
Barry, Clinton, Eaton and Shiwassee counties and Delta Township have each declared a local state of emergency, which means local resources are being utilized to the fullest possible extent and allows officials to restrict access to certain roadways.
"It is important to remember the goal of disaster assistance is not to make individuals, businesses or government entities whole again, but to restore community to a level that meets expected health and safety considerations," Kelenske said. "We're not surprised to see the local state of emergencies that have been put in place."
Local governments can request state assistance if they're unable to handle the disaster, and the state can ask for a presidential disaster declaration if it doesn't have enough resources.
Kelenske said the state police have asked local emergency management departments if they need help, but so far they have not asked for state assistance. There needs to be a specific reason for declaring a statewide emergency, he said.
"I do think there's a perception out there that that automatically fixes things, and it doesn't," he said.
Some have asked why the state didn't bring in the National Guard to deploy generators or other assistance. The soldiers aren't trained to work on utility lines, and they can't bring in generators to power blocks of homes.
"If there were hospitals and nursing facilities and all these places that needed generators, and the locals could not provide generators, they would come to us and ask for that," he said.
Murray said Snyder's office is ready to respond if needed.
"The storm has been an important issue for Gov. Snyder," Murray said. "He recognizes that there have been difficulties for many people in this state, and we're also impressed with the way Michiganders pulled together during these tough times."
Of the 570,000 total outages, 380,000 came from Consumers Energy. The Jackson-based utility has 46,000 customers still without power, and is on target to have them restored by midnight on Saturday, according to Kelenske. Update: Consumers reported 392,000 total outages with 36,400 still without power, according to a news release sent at 5 p.m. Friday.
DTE Energy had 150,000 customers impacted, with 2,700 still in the dark. Their lights should be back on by this evening, he said. The Lansing Board of Water and Light had 40,000 without power. The remaining 2,600 BWL customers should have power restored by midnight Saturday. Update: The BWL website says: "The BWL is projecting that fewer than 1,000 customers will be without power by the end of this Sunday, Dec. 29. The remaining outages are expected to be restored next week and reflect single homes with downed lines or small pockets of outages."
Utilities have brought in crews from several other states to work around the clock during the holidays to restore power.