News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A tree covered with ice glitters in the sun in downtown Alpena last week. Clean up from last week’s ice storm is in its early stages and will likely last weeks.

ALPENA — Though nearly all of Alpena residents have their power restored as of Monday night, Alpena and surrounding areas continue to recover from last week’s ice storm.

Like last year, this year’s ice storm has presented local government and community partners with unique challenges.

CITY OF ALPENA

Rachel Smolinski, Alpena city manager, said that the 2026 ice storm that rolled through Northeast Michigan on March 15 was different from the 2025 ice storm because there appeared to be more ice coverage within the city limits. She said that the ice damage seemed more concentrated and that the weather was colder than last year.

Smolinski added that City leadership carried over lessons learned from last year to expedite resources and information to community members affected by power outages.

“We learned a lot from last year,” she said.

In December, Smolinski told the Alpena Municipal Council that the City of Alpena was eligible to cover 75% of their ice storm recovery expenses with federal funding. On Tuesday, Smolinski told The News that City leadership is unsure how much or if they will receive any funding for the most recent storm.

“It is unknown if we will get any federal or state assistance,” she said. “We will still have to clean up like last year.”

Regarding city-wide debris cleanup, Smolinski said that residents should keep in mind that storm recovery may take longer than expected. She explained that the Department of Public Works (DPW) has other responsibilities to get parks and other recreation areas ready for the spring and summer months.

Smolinski added that because there is still snow throughout the city, storm clean up will be more difficult than last year when spring came much sooner. She said that Alpena residents can expect cleanup to last “at least through mid-May.”

Beyond storm recovery, Smolinski noted how this year’s winter has created unique challenges for DPW. She said that there has been a series of “freeze and thaws” which have contributed to additional damage to roadways.

She added that DPW will have to prioritize which roads to tackle first amidst storm recovery and normal spring and summer preparation.

“We are hopeful for some nice weather,” Smolinski said.

ALPENA POWER COMPANY

Ken Dragiewicz, Alpena Power Company’s (APC) president and COO, said as of 8:48 p.m. on Monday, the last APC customers, who weren’t waiting for their own repairs, had their power restored. Dragiewicz said that to get the lights back on in Alpena and surrounding areas, it took collaboration across the board.

“I’m very proud of our team … the contractors, the mutual aid, and community partners,” said Dragiewicz. “It was a team effort across the region.”

Dragiewicz said that the 2026 ice storm was another historical storm that affected the entire region of Northeast Michigan. He said that both the 2025 and 2026 ice storms were regional storms though they presented different challenges.

“They were both major events,” he said.

Dragiewicz said that last year, the entirety of northern Michigan experienced a blackout. This year, Dragiewicz said that the infrastructure damage was mostly just trees that had fallen on powerlines.

“The primary failure was trees on lines … some broken poles, some damaged transformers,” he said.

Dragiewicz added that APC does not have any concerns for any long-term infrastructure damage resulting from the most recent ice storm. However, APC crews are still struggling with access to some homes due to ice buildup.

“We had more snow, ice, and slush build up which made access hard,” he said in regards to the 2026 ice storm. “We are still fighting in areas with significant ice and snow build up.”

Though customers may be concerned about how storm recovery efforts may affect their power bills, Dragiewicz said that APC is currently concerned with restoring power and will then tackle the financial impacts of this storm event.

“It is too early to comment,” Dragiewicz said.

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