Schools
UPDATE: Why Is Wood Creek Elementary Still Without Power?
A DTE spokesperson said complex damage to a circuit near the school caused the delay in restoring power, which came back Wednesday afternoon.
UPDATE: Farmington Public Schools announced Wednesday afternoon that Wood Creek Elementary School is back online and will reopen on Thursday.
DTE Energy crews had been working to restore power at the school since late Tuesday night, but the circuit they need to fix was badly damaged.
So much so, DTE representative Randi Barris said Wednesday, that the company would have to bring in cranes to remove trees that caused "multiple issues and complex damage" to the circuit that powers the school and about 70 surrounding homes.
"It's an enormous job," Barris said. "We understand that parents are frustrated ... We're putting as much manpower as we can to get it taken care of."
Wood Creek had been closed since Monday, as the result of a storm and high winds that knocked out power to thousands in Farmington and Farmington Hills. Only scattered areas remain without power; the largest is south of Nine Mile Road, west of Middlebelt. Power is expected back there by Friday at 11:30 p.m.
Farmington Public Schools spokesperson Diane Bauman said students will likely not have to make up any school days, so long as the outage doesn't drag on.
"We will be fine even if there would be four snow days, which would be unusual," she said.
Still, Bauman added, "We want our kids in school."
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