News Photo by Steve Schulwitz U.S. Air Force National Guard troops set up a power generator and a warming tent behind MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena on Tuesday. The soldiers are in the area to help restore power and resources people need while the power is out.

ALPENA — Across the city of Alpena, Alpena County, and outlying counties, emergency services have been taxed to respond to the unprecedented ice storm that began Friday. Emergency services across departments have been coordinating to provide necessary aid for residents affected by the storm.

According to a MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena press release, the center lost power at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The press release further explained that MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena used generators for two days until power was fully restored at 8 p.m. on Monday.

Further, it stated that the hospital’s generators were immediately turned on when the outage occurred, and this ensured that critical care centers were supplied with power. The press release explained that the hospital has a seven-day fuel supply on hand to fuel the generators when an outage occurs.

In the press release, Hunter Nostrant, president of MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, commented on the hospital’s protocol when dealing with severe weather and how it responded to the recent ice storm.

“We have established contingency plans and emergency response protocols to ensure we can effectively manage situations like this ice storm,” Nostrant said. “A Hospital Incident Command was set up to enhance our ability to respond quickly and efficiently to any changes. The team continues to meet regularly to stay abreast of any issues, including the inclement weather forecasted for tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.”

Further, Nostrant applauded the hospital team and the quality of care that was delivered to patients during this crisis.

“We are fortunate to have employees volunteer to stay over or come in from home to keep the Medical Center open and functional ensuring we could continue serving our community,” Nostrant said. “We are also grateful to the power crews, first responders, Alpena County Emergency Management teams, and so many others who continue to work tirelessly to restore power, clear debris, reopen roadways. Their dedication is essential in keeping our communities safe as restoration efforts continue.”

Like MyMichgian Medical Center Alpena, Alpena and surrounding counties took many steps to ensure residents had access to heat and hot meals amidst the fallout of the recent ice storm. This included warming shelters.

Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer explained that a warming shelter was set up at the Alpena Fairgrounds merchant building on Monday after taking time to secure cots and other resources.

Osmer said the warming shelter served 60 people on Monday, but only 10 people stayed overnight. He explained that once people learned that power had been restored at their homes, they chose to return.

Osmer further explained that the warming shelter at the merchant building can serve up to 75 people and that many local partners have provided resources. Osmer is confident that the county is well stocked for the coming days, considering the next storm system that is approaching.

For now, Osmer said the county is continuing to monitor the weather.

Kim Elkie, emergency management director for Alpena County, explained that the initial big challenges Alpena County faced, during and in the wake of the storm, were providing fuel and oxygen.

Now that the county has sourced fuel and oxygen, Elkie said that they can now begin to focus on other areas of recovery.

“Where we are right now, we are getting our feet under ourselves,” Elkie said.

Elkie also noted the uniqueness of this event in that when power outages occur within Alpena County, they can normally rely on mutual aid.

“Other counties usually pick up the slack in outages,” Elkie explained.

This storm presented unprecedented challenges across the board, however.

Sarah Melching, emergency services coordinator of Presque Isle County, described how the surrounding counties have been affected differently by the recent ice storm.

“Once you cross the county line, things are different,” Melching said.

Though residents of Alpena saw ice melting by Tuesday, Melching said Presque Isle is still reeling from the effects of the storm.

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” Melching said.

According to Melching, the majority of Presque Isle residents are still without power and have been without power for many days. She also stated the Presque Isle residents should expect to be without power for a while.

Melching noted that after experiencing the ice storm over the weekend, she can now relate to hurricane victims. Melching said that Northeastern Michigan is experiencing many of the same issues that states in the south do with hurricanes.

Overall, Presque Isle County has taken steps to ensure residents have warming stations and overnight accommodations.

“This is what we do and you can’t prepare enough,” Melching said.

Mary Hardies, acting emergency management coordinator of Montmorency County, also commented on the conditions of her county, explaining that conditions in Montmorency County right after the storm were extremely bad. She explained that power lines were down and roads were impassable throughout the county.

Hardies explained that recovery will not be an overnight process.

The police departments in Alpena and Alpena County have also faced unique challenges in responding to the needs of the community and preparing for the following days.

According to Alpena Police Chief Eric Hamp, first responders struggled at the beginning of the storm because of downed power lines and fallen trees.

“First responders couldn’t access all the locations they needed to,” Hamp said.

Hamp explained that it was “all hands on deck” for the department because of the high volume of calls that the city was receiving.

Because of phone and internet service outages, many people could not get in touch with loved ones. Hamp explained that due to these outages, many people were calling emergency services for welfare checks.

Hamp stated that the department faced challenges “right at the get-go.” He explained that emergency vehicles needed gas and though the demand has decreased as more gas stations have received power, the demand hasn’t disappeared.

“The need is still there,” Hamp said.

According to Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith, power outages are not a unique thing for Alpena County, but the recent storm system presented the county with unprecedented challenges.

“Power went out for all of Northeast Michigan,” Smith said.

In previous circumstances, Smith said people could rely on family members, friends, and neighbors for resources if they experienced an outage. However, because Northeastern Michigan is experiencing power outages across counties, Smith explained that people have had to become self-sufficient.

Smith stated that with a new storm system quickly approaching, Alpena County is “not out of the woods yet.”

Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds also commented on the challenges the fire department has faced in light of the unprecedented ice storm.

Edmonds explained that the fire department received 200 calls as of Tuesday. To compare, Edmonds said that on a normal day, the fire department only receives 11 to 14 calls a day. On Sunday alone, the department received 55 calls requesting services.

According to Edmonds, many of the calls were about down wires, gas odors, people not feeling well, problems with medical equipment, and some requesting transportation to the hospital for food and warmth.

Because of the influx of calls, the hospital has been taxed with patients arriving for various reasons. Though Edmonds could not comment on the capacity concerns of the hospital, he said there is definitely a long wait time.

Edmonds said that the department began to receive calls as soon as the storm began on Friday. However, he noted that calls began to surge the next day.

In response to the increased need of the city, Edmonds has increased the staffing of the station. Normally, the station would have seven to eight career personnel on duty. Edmonds said there are now 12 personnel on duty, along with 10 from outside the city.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.