Nearly a million people lose power in Michigan after high winds

— -- Strong winds that topped 60 mph in several Great Lakes states on Wednesday left almost a million people without power in Michigan, the state's utilities said.

"We have crews working around the clock in difficult weather conditions," said Guy Packard, the vice president of energy operations for one of those providers, Consumers Energy. "With the rough weather continuing, we expect this to be a multiday restoration effort."

He added, "As we work to restore power as quickly as possible, the safety of our customers and employees is our top priority. We thank our customers for their patience as we commit to working 24/7 until our final customers have their energy restored."

Along with Consumers Energy, which had more than 290,000 customers without electricity, DTE Energy was heavily affected, with more than 700,000 of its customers without power.

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In a press release, DTE Energy said it was the "largest weather event in its history."

"The priority of our crew is to first eliminate downed power lines to ensure the safety of the public," the release said.