Fargo prepares for Red River crest

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This article was published 07/04/2019 (2518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Red River in Fargo was expected to crest Sunday at 35 feet and remain that high in the North Dakota city until about Tuesday before dropping.

Cass County officials warned residents of rural homes and farmsteads that forecasting models predicted areas near the Red, Sheyenne and Maple rivers were expected to see significant overland flooding. The Sheyenne is a tributary of the Red, and the Maple flows into the Sheyenne.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the Red River in Fargo was at 33.64 feet, the Fargo Forum reported.

Flood warnings were issued in Cass County in recent days after the rivers started rising. Some streams are expected to crest in the coming days, if they hadn’t already. Most will stay above the moderate and major flood stage for days, testing ring dikes, levees and sandbags.

On top of that, snow from several winter blizzards has melted, further compounding flood problems. Fields are flooded northwest of West Fargo, west of Gardner and near Harwood, and some township and county roads have disappeared under the water.

On Saturday at a farm northeast of Harwood, about 15 kilometres north of Fargo, an all-terrain vehicle dubbed “the Sherp,” was driven around by Sgt. Ben White. Once it got in the water, it floated smoothly.

“We got it about two weeks ago,” White said, noting the sheriff’s office in Williston, N.D., had used it in its flood-fighting efforts.

The mini tank is one of the many tools Cass County officials are using to help residents fight overland flooding around the clock.

“As the Sheyenne River continues to rise, it’s going to continue to spill out into different areas and cause overland flooding,” County Engineer Jason Benson said. “In the next 24 hours, I think we will see a lot more rural residents become isolated” as township roads and driveways are overtopped.

The county has spent the last several days delivering sandbags to residents. At times, staff delivered the bags in the middle of the night after emergency requests came in from Gardner and Harwood residents, county administrator Robert Wilson said.

The county, which includes Fargo, urged residents to be vigilant and monitor changing conditions.

“Residents who suspect they may need sandbags are urged to be proactive and contact the Cass County flood hotline,” a news release said.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has divided the county into districts and has sent deputies out to each one, Sheriff Jesse Jahner said. Officers patrol the areas and visit with residents to see if they have any questions regarding flood safety.

The sheriff’s office has switched to 12-hour shifts and has a tactical operations centre that is staffed 24/7 with personnel from various agencies, including the Cass County Highway Department and the North Dakota Army National Guard. Residents who call in for assistance can be quickly connected for sandbags, emergency services and other flood-related information, he said.

Cass County has two airboats, but it asked Mercer County to bring two of its airboats to Fargo in case the sheriff’s office needs to respond to more than one incident at a time, Jahner said.

Jahner said he hadn’t heard of any flood-related injuries or evacuations. Residents, overall, have prepared this year, Benson said.

“A lot of people are aware of what’s coming,” Benson said.

Fargo is 360 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

— Fargo Forum