HILLSDALE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Hillsdale College is breaking its four-year streak of keeping doors open in the face of severe weather.

All classes are canceled for at least twenty-four hours in response to dangerous conditions and widespread power outages from Wednesday’s ice storm.

MORE NEWS: Crews Clean Up Styrofoam Along Lake Superior

Diane Philipp, Vice President for Student Affairs, sent out a campus-wide email on Thursday morning announcing the closure. She instructed students to “stay inside unless an emergency due to downed power lines and large branches/ice falling from trees.”

William Whorley, Director of Security and Emergency Management, said there is no expected time of restoration. “The electric company is working on the problem,” he told students. “Exercise reasonable caution when traveling on campus.”

Conditions deteriorated on Wednesday night as low temperatures froze rain that had fallen during the day, weighing down tree branches, telephone poles, and power lines. The college’s Benzing Dormitory also experienced a fire evacuation, which may have been related to sparks from a downed power line.

Katherine Miller, a current student, described hearing branches crack while studying in her dormitory. “There’s a tree right outside Koon [Dormitory] by the road, and all the branches were just creaking,” she said. “Then all of a sudden we just heard a crash from the branches falling.”

Two women’s dorms and one of the student common areas are equipped with working emergency generators. The cafeteria is open to students, but students face hazardous conditions while traveling from their dormitories to the main campus. A sophomore, Hope Canlas, was walking under a row of trees when a branch broke and crashed beside the path. She concluded that “[these branches are] very big and scary.”

Consumers Energy reports over 200,000 customers affected by power outages south of Lansing. Most of these outages are still “awaiting assessment,” meaning that the location and type of damage has not yet been determined. Some locations may remain without power for several days, according to outage map estimated.

MORE NEWS: Train Crash Kills One in Kalamazoo

While repair work continues, Consumers Energy warns customers to stay far away from downed power lines. They encourage reporting outages and structural damage by calling 911 or Consumers Energy directly at 800-477-5050. More safety tips are available on their website.