CMS Energy Corp.'s Consumers Energy utility sends gas to about 4.1 million people in 45 counties in the region, including much of the auto manufacturing sector, according to its website. The fire occurred in a facility that accounts for about 64 percent of the utility's gas supply, and company officials were urging all customers -- residential, industrial and commercial -- to cut back on their use of the fuel.

General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV both idled some of their operations while Ford Motor Co. dialed back natural gas consumption at four factories. The fire hit a compressor station, and the utility expects to be able to return to normal operations this afternoon, Katie Carey, a utility spokeswoman, said by telephone.

Temperatures fell to minus-12 Fahrenheit (minus 24 Celsius) in Detroit at 7:39 a.m., with wind-chill values as low as minus 33, according to the National Weather Service. The agency warned of a life-threatening chill and widespread record lows from the upper Midwest through