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Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Power Restored to Thousands in Dearborn After Fire Causes Outage Thursday

Around 4,000 DTE customers were without power for 4-12 hours after a van parked near a power substation caught fire in west Dearborn.

11 p.m.: Power appears to be restored to all Dearborn homes and businesses affected by the outage Thursday.

The restoration efforts—aided by dozens of DTE workers—happened in phases. Some regained power as early as 1 p.m.; the last blocks waited until after 10 p.m. for their lights and heat to come back on.

The buzzing of generators could be heard coming from many Dearborn homes.

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The cause of the van fire that spurred the outages was still unknown Thursday night.

4:20 p.m.: Around 2,000 Dearborn homes and businesses were still without power late Thursday afternoon after a fire resulted in an outage that morning.

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According to DTE representatives, power has been restored to 2,000 of the 4,000 customers who originally lost power.

"We should be able to get the rest of the customers restored by late Thursday evening," DTE spokesman John Austerberry said.

He elaborated that because the van that caught fire was parked close to a cabinet containing equipment, "those (circuits) all have to be checked and cleaned before we can put them in service."

Additionally, Austerberry said that DTE was deploying a back-up plan in case it was determined that some equipment would need to be replaced, resulting in a longer outage. That plan entails bringing in generators to temporarily restore power to affected homes and businesses.

"The generators are being deployed," Austerberry said, "but it's not like hooking up your household generator."

Because DTE's generators are complicated to hook up and get running, the energy company is beginning that process even as crews attempt to repair the original circuits.

There is no estimate as to when individual neighborhoods could expect to have their power restored.

2:10 p.m.: DTE representatives are now reporting that they were able to restore power to 1,000 of the 4,000 customers who lost power. However, spokesman John Austerberry said that restoration times for the rest of the affected areas are unknown.

The power outages run east from Outer Drive to Oakwood Boulevard and the Rouge River. North to south, the outages run from Ford Field to Rotunda.

Austerberry said that DTE plans to mobilize generators to restore power for additional customers, but plans have not been finalized as to when and where that will occur.

DTE is restoring power circuit by circuit, and expects to have a better idea of restoration times, as well as the extent of the damage, later this afternoon.

1:30 p.m.: DTE is estimating that power will be returned to the areas south of Michigan Avenue by 3 p.m. Thursday. There is no estimate for when power will be restored north of the affected area—including along Michigan Avenue.

Business owners from around the downtown area lamented having to shut down their businesses for the day, but were happy that the fire was contained.

Some said they could smell the smoke from their buildings. Nada Younes of Lulu By Design said that when she entered her business on Howard Street Thursday morning, "the smell of smoke was heavy."

Some residents near Monroe Street and Outer Drive were reporting that their power came back on around 1:30 p.m.

12:30 a.m.: West Village drive from Tenny to Monroe remained closed as firefighters and DTE workers assessed the damage from the fire.

With power still out, traffic was heavily backed up on Michigan Avenue heading both directions. An alternative route is advised.

Bryant Library and Sacred Heart School were also closed due to the power outage, as well as numerous businesses in the west downtown district.

The city confirmed that Bryant will remain closed throughout the end of the day Thursday.

11:24 a.m.: Dearborn firefighters have put out the blaze at the DTE substation in west Dearborn. No one was injured in the fire.

DTE Energy says that 4,000 customers are without power in Dearborn. Fire officials said power likely will be out through the end of day, though they are unsure when power will be restored.

DTE officials are assessing the damage at the substation.

Power is out at DuVall Elementary School and Dearborn High School, but students are finishing out the remainer of the day.

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Firefighters are on the scene of a blaze at the DTE substation in downtown Dearborn at Michigan Avenue and Howard.

The fire, which appears to be under control, started in a van near the substation. The substation is not on fire, but officials had to shut down power because of the threat of the fire.

Firefighters also have sprayed the substation to cool it down.

DTE reports that approximately 1,600 customers in Dearborn are without power.

West Village Drive is blocked off to traffic, but Michigan Avenue remains open (though some traffic signals are off).

Patch will update this article with more information as it becomes available.

Correction: This article originally stated that students were sent home from DuVall Elementary. That is incorrect.

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