Crews work overnight battling fire at Michigan power plant

The plant has been in service since 1953 and the utility said the facility has 294 employees overall.

The units in East China Township, the River Rouge facility in the Detroit area and the Trenton facility in suburban Detroit are to be retired between 2020 and 2023, DTE Energy said.

A stretch of M-29 near the power plant was reopened Friday morning after being closed to traffic following the blaze.

The fire was caused by a coal generation unit catching fire, according to a statement from DTE. St Clair and Marine City first responders are now working to contain the fire.

The plant is expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future, while the situation is being assessed.

The Times-Herald of Port Huron reports that multiple area fire agencies are responding Thursday evening to the DTE Energy St. Clair Power Plant, northeast of Detroit. They are being reassigned to other DTE facilities.

In a public statement, DTE Energy said the fire had been extinguished, but first responders remained on scene monitoring the situation.

Food and water can be dropped off at the fire department, at 216 Cass St.in St. Clair.

No residential evacuations were immediately ordered, but deputy county emergency manager Ken Cummings told the Times-Herald of Port Huron a plan was in place if they became necessary. “Not only (at the plant) but backlogging to ensure every incident in the county is covered”. Due to the hot weather, firefighters needed to be rotated often. “This one went considerably longer than most we’ve dealt with just because of the heat”.

The plant invoked emergency procedures and shut down all units onsite by 7:01 p.m. DTE Energy said employees were evacuated safely and that there were no known injuries at the plant.