More than 800 members of the Michigan National Guard have been mobilized to assist residents impacted by ice storms, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday.
Most of the units are staged at Camp Grayling and began deploying to communities in Northern Michigan on Thursday.
“Our Soldiers and Airmen live and serve in the communities that are impacted by this ice storm and we are committed to helping our neighbors overcome this historic storm,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
“We are working alongside our local and state agency partners to help clear roadways overcome by debris and supporting delivery of pallets of food to areas in need.”
Units, a complete list of which can be seen below, are assisting in a variety of ways, with mobile chainsaw teams and engineering equipment moving between locations to support debris clearing operations.
Crewa are also helping restore power to communities and reestablishing access to emergency communications sites alongside the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Transportation.
A powerful ice storm that swept across much of state on March 30, causing damage that Michigan State Police spokesperson Kim Vetter called “nothing short of catastrophic.”
The Mackinac Bridge was closed for a record 30 hours due to falling ice.
A state of emergency has been declared in Otsego, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alpena, Alcona and Atrium counties.
The following units are participating in response efforts:
- 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery Regiment (Lansing)
- 1071st Support Maintenance Company (Grayling)
- 1073rd Support Maintenance Company (Greenville)
- 1430th Engineering Company (Traverse City)
- 1431st Engineering Company (Calumet)
- 1432nd Engineering Company (Kingsford)
- 1434th Engineering Company (Ypsilanti)
- 127th Wing, Selfridge Air National Guard Base (Harrison Township)
- 110th Wing, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base (Battle Creek)
- 210th Military Police Battalion (Taylor)
Read More: More than 800 Michigan National Guard soldiers, airmen have been deployed after