News photo by Kayla Wikaryasz Nick Modrzynski, Alpena County emergency manager, is seen presenting his recap of the 2026 ice storm to the Alpena County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. He said that Alpena County was prepared to endure the storm.

ALPENA — On Tuesday, Nick Modrzynski, Alpena County emergency manager, told the Alpena County Board of Commissioners that Alpena was prepared to handle the 2026 ice storm.

Modrzynski said that his department released messaging to the public on March 14 about the potential weather concerns. He added that his department also took time ahead of the storm system to ensure that necessary preparations were made.

Modrzynski said that at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night he began to hear community members reporting power outages over his radio.

“When I started hearing calls on the radio about downed trees and wires, we actually started driving around and trying to assist with that,” Modrzynski said.

He explained that in the early morning hours of March 16 over 14,500 Alpena Power Company (APC) customers and 800 Presque Isle Electric & Gas (PIE&G) customers were without power.

Modrzynski said that the Alpena County Road Commission and the City of Alpena Department of Public Works continued plowing and clearing roads throughout the storm.

He explained that the number of people in Alpena County without power “was nearly cut in half by pretty much Wednesday night, Thursday.”

He added that by March 20, APC and PIE&G customers were mostly all restored. By March 22, Modrzynski said that APC had reported that “total power was restored to everybody.”

“Several places still don’t have power and that’s from damages from their homes,” he added. “So they’re tackling those as they come through.”

As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Modrzynski said that APC had three people out of power. However, APC is expecting calls of power connection damages to vacation homes and part-time residences.

As for the road commission, Modrzynski said that the department is continuing to assess back roads and clear downed trees as needed.

“Recovery phase is still going on,” he added.

Modrzynski told commissioners that his work at District Health Department No. 4 (DHD4) during the 2025 ice storm helped prepare him for this year’s storm.

“I’m no stranger to the ice storm,” he said. “It was all pretty self explanatory.”

Modrzynski told board members that he believes that the new trend of ice storms indicates a “change in weather patterns.”

He added that this storm should be a reminder to be prepared and to have a plan.

“I know the last ice storm was supposed to be a 100-year storm,” he said. “For ice storms, tornadoes, and everything man-made that is going on in the world now it’s best practice for everyone to be prepared these days and have a plan. Have supplies and look out for one another.”

“Last year’s storm showed some of our vulnerabilities,” he added. “This year’s storm showed our preparation and experience from the last.”

Modrzynski noted the resiliency of Alpena County residents and thanked first responders for attending to a home explosion that occurred during the ice storm recovery.

On Tuesday, Modrzynski reported that the county is looking into what brush clean up is going to look like for Alpena County residents. On Thursday, County Administrator Jesse Osmer said that the county is still working on determining a drop off location for brush and ice storm debris.

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