The city of Dearborn is distributing dry ice Saturday evening to help residents deal with widespread power outages caused by a Friday evening storm at the tail end of an intense heat wave.
Residents can pick up dry ice starting at 6 p.m. at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. The city said proof of residency is required, and distribution will continue as long as supplies last.
Officials recommended bringing a cooler to transport the dry ice. It's made of frozen carbon dioxide, which has a temperature of minus 109.
Temperatures in Dearborn were in the mid-80s when the city started handing out dry ice Saturday evening, after a week when highs routinely reached into the 90s with heat indices in the triple digits.
About half a million people lost power in Michigan in strong storms Friday, and DTE Energy, which serves Southeast Michigan, including Dearborn, was still reporting more than 200,000 outages Saturday evening.
Dearborn was also dealing with at least half a dozen water main breaks that officials said were connected to storm damage. Three had been repaired by Saturday afternoon.
