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<\/div>\nLarge chunks of ice rammed into homes along Michigan\u2019s Black Lake in the northeastern Lower Peninsula as constant spring rainfall and winter melt left many homes flooded and threatened to overflow stressed dam systems.<\/p>\n
Photos and video posted to social media Wednesday showed ice sitting inside living rooms after it busted through windows and doors. Homes, garages and sheds could also be seen surrounded by several feet of muddy, brown river and lake water.<\/p>\n
Spring rains and winter snowmelt have swelled rivers and lakes, forcing torrents of water through Cheboygan County communities on its way to Lake Huron.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake, the Sturgeon River \u2014 and nearly every waterway in the county \u2014 have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,\u201d the Cheboygan County sheriff\u2019s office told residents last week on its Facebook page. \u201cWhat should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Homes along Black Lake\u2019s west side were evacuated over the weekend, according to the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are ice sheets. They\u2019re massive,\u201d said Christopher Narsesian, who took photos and video of the damage. \u201cThey\u2019re mini glaciers, if you will. They just run down everything in their path. Nothing can stop that kind of weight.\u201d<\/p>\n
State and county officials are working to keep debris and ice from clogging the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex to allow water to flow on to Lake Huron.<\/p>\n
If water levels were normal, lake ice would just break up in place as it melts, according to Patrick Bak, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord, Michigan.<\/p>\n
The ice on Black Lake, more than likely, was pushed ashore by the wind, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that the water was so high, the ice \u2026 had more room to travel,\u201d Bak said.<\/p>\n
Ice chunks were also moving through nearby Mullett Lake. Both lakes feed into the Cheboygan River, with water flowing through the Cheboygan Dam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve managed a little bit of ice issues on Mullett Lake,\u201d said Patrick Ertel, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team.<\/p>\n
Last week, crews added pumps, and power was restored to an old hydroelectric station<\/a> to increase water flow through the dam. Cranes also were used to remove gates that hold back water.<\/p>\n A large chunk of ice snapped the safety cable at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on April 9, forcing the natural resources department to close access points upstream and downstream of the dam.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t have large chunks of ice flowing down blocking up the gates,\u201d Ertel said. \u201cTwo marine vessels are kind of breaking up the chunks \u2026 on the Cheboygan River. The more water we can safely pass at the Cheboygan Dam, the faster we can bring relief to Mullet Lake. It\u2019s going as fast as it can. It is purely driven by gravity.\u201d<\/p>\n The smaller Alverno Dam is between Black Lake and the Cheboygan River.<\/p>\n \u201cIce from Black Lake is not going to make it down to the Cheboygan River. It will be held up,\u201d Ertel said.<\/p>\n Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in Cheboygan and more than 30 other Michigan counties due to flooding and other severe weather this month.<\/p>\n Narsesian lives near Cheboygan and grew up along Black Lake.<\/p>\n Slabs of ice, which he described as a \u201cseveral-mile-wide sheet,\u201d continue to float in the lake. He said the ice is \u201csmashing into homes and taking them out, just leveling them.\u201d He said some ice was pushed as high as rooftops.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never seen it that high,\u201d Narsesian said. \u201cTypically, the ice would just come over the break walls in front of houses, like a couple of feet. People\u2019s homes don\u2019t typically flood. The ice just melts.\u201d<\/p>\n Water is receding, but Narsesian said levels are still high and the ice still is out there.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as the wind doesn\u2019t pick up and move that around again, we should be OK,\u201d he said. \u201cIf that ice does come back, it\u2019s going to do more damage.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the aftermath that concerns him most for the community where it\u2019s \u201call friends and family\u201d and \u201ceverybody knows everyone,\u201d Narsesian said.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people don\u2019t have any help \u2014 coverage,\u201d he added. \u201d Flood insurance<\/a> was never necessary. No one\u2019s ever seen this here. It\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: This image provided by Christopher Narsesian shows chunks of ice and flooding in Michigan\u2019s Black Lake in the northeastern Lower Peninsula on April 19, 2026. (Christopher Narsesian via AP)<\/em><\/p>\n Topics<\/span> Michigan<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n