By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
STURGIS — After a severe storm rolled through Sturgis Thursday night, Sturgis city officials are asking residents to stay off the roads and stay at home while crews complete cleanup work.
Approximately 3,000 people are out of power Friday morning as a result of the storm, which caused downed trees, limbs and power lines in the city. A tornado warning for St. Joseph County was issued at 10:44 p.m. Thursday night, but there have been no confirmed tornadoes as of Friday morning. Several streets are closed to traffic as crews work to fix issues.
“Roadways throughout town are impacted by downed trees and lines. Crews are closing streets to through traffic in certain locations as crews work to fix issues,” the city said in a release Friday morning. “Residents are asked to use caution when moving through the city and to avoid areas and find alternate routes where streets are impacted if they need to be on the road. Motorists are reminded that any intersection controlled by a stoplight without power should be treated as a four-way stop.”
Sturgis officials added that there are no current estimates for restoring power for specific areas, and that outages could last into and through the weekend. Those who are experiencing an emergency or life-threatening situation are asked to call 911, and those with an electric outage yet to be reported or a downed line on their property are asked to call 269-659-7255.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
