Metro Detroiters waiting for power fill hotels

Southfield — After an epic wind storm that left thousands of Metro Detroiters without power for nearly three days this week, Roberta Patterson was thrilled to get power back on in her Detroit home on Friday morning.

But hour and a half later, she was in the dark again.

On Wednesday and Thursday nights, Patterson stayed home even though there were no lights or heat.

But Friday, she gathered two granddaughters and a niece, packed up some nail polish and makeup and plopped down $149 for a hotel room at Courtyard by Marriott Detroit Southfield.

“I’m outta here,” said Patterson. “It’s going to be a girls night out.”

Patterson was among scores of Metro Detroit families who jammed into hotel rooms across town after one of the worst wind storms in the region. The storm knocked out power on Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without light or heat. By Friday, many were still without power and officials were encouraging them to get to warming centers, or other places, as overnight temperatures were predicted to dip into the teens.

Many hotels were booked with suburban residents trying to escape their cold and dark homes. Others downtown were also booked with residents from Chicago, in for the Red Wings game, and students attending the state conference of Michigan DECA, which prepares emerging leaders in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

Morgan Alward, the front desk clerk at the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham in Auburn Hills, said all 108 rooms have been sold out since the wind storm on Wednesday.

“We keep getting constant phone calls from people still looking for hotels to stay in,” Alward said. “Some of them are here and are going through the whole weekend.”

As of 11 a.m. Saturday power was restored to more than 569,000 of the 800,000 DTE Energy customers affected, according to a statement from DTE. The statement said the utility expects to have "roughly 90 percent" of customers restored by Sunday evening.

"We continue to work to restore the remaining 243,000 customers without power," DTE said in the statement.

Those without power can access an interactive map to locate a local warming center.

The storm, which DTE Energy said was the largest in its history, caused more than 800,000 outages for DTE customers. Wind speeds topped out at 68 mph Wednesday at Detroit Metro Airport and Saginaw, said Alex Manion, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township. Statewide, more than 1 million lost power.

All 56 rooms at Hotel Royal Oak have been booked for the last two nights, guest services manager Devon Grobbel said on Friday, and for the weekend.

The high demand is in part from power outages, Grobbel said, but also because there is a nearby pub crawl and concert this weekend.

“In the past two days it was mostly exclusively because of (power outages),” Grobbel said. “But people aren’t too worried. It’s obviously an inconvenience but they are staying positive.”

Some families were having difficulty finding a place to stay, including the Kamal and Valerie Mabry of Oak Park. The couple made an online reservation with a third party for a room at Courtyard by Marriott Southfield Detroit. But when they arrived with their children, Kyla and Kamal, the hotel didn’t have their reservation.

“It’s frustrating,” said the elder Kamal Mabry, as he made a call to reservationcounter.com about the room he reserved for $200.

The family eventually left the hotel. But before they did, Valerie Mabry said she hoped for the best.

“I’m just hoping my power will be back on soon,” Mabry said.

While many were frustrated with the cost of a hotel or needing to stay away from their home, at least one person was happy.

Zarina Kinney, who was at the Courtyeard Marriott with her grandmother, brought her swimsuit.

“I’m going to the pool,” said Kinney, 8.

Officials from DTE Energy said Friday night that about 250,000 customers remained in the dark, while another 60,000 Consumers Energy customers were without electricity.

In Dearborn Heights on Friday, Gov. Rick Snyder toured a neighborhood damaged by the windstorm, which he said caused roughly one-third of the state to lose power.

“This was unprecedented in terms of the number of power lines (down), poles broken,” Snyder told reporters gathered at the house. “And it wasn’t in one spot. This was literally from the upper peninsula down to the lower peninsula.”

Jennifer Wilt, a DTE spokeswoman, said 90 percent of customers should see their power restored by Sunday. It was not immediately clear when the other 10 percent would have power restored.

Consumers Energy expects the vast majority of its customers to have their power restored by midnight Saturday, spokesman Roger Morgenstern said.

However, customers in parts of Kent, Genesee and Jackson counties may not have electricity back until Sunday, he said.

DTE has deployed more than 3,500 workers, including 1,500 of its own linemen, 750 linemen who came in from other states, 700 company tree trimmers and another 250 tree trimmers coming in from other states, DTE officials say.

Detroit News Staff Writers Nicquel Terry and Candice Williams contributed.