Ice jams make flooding worse around Bismarck, N.D.

[March 25, 2009]  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- With record amounts of water feeding into the Missouri River from swollen tributaries on top of a blizzard, state officials urged evacuations along the river and were considering using helicopters to dynamite an ice jam to ease flooding around Bismarck.

Residents in low-lying subdivisions along the river in Bismarck and Mandan were ordered to leave their homes Tuesday after access roads flooded.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., called Bismarck "the most urgent threat" in North Dakota because of ice jams north and south of town and heavy snow forecast. Officials did not immediately have an estimate on the number of people forced to evacuate along the river.

President Barack Obama declared North Dakota a federal disaster area, which means the federal government will pay 75 percent of state and local government costs for the flood fight. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven said the state is grateful for the help.

The Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday cut water releases for the first time ever from the Garrison Dam north of Bismarck to ease flooding.

No water will be released from the upstream dam until the flooding eases in Bismarck, spokesman Paul Johnston said. A reduction in the water releases takes about two days to reach the city, he said.

The move will cut power generation at the dam and force the Western Area Power Administration to buy electricity on the open market to meet obligations to its customers, Johnston said.

The National Weather Service said two ice jams were reported -- one just south of Fox Island and one north of Bismarck. Officials said the threat intensified with the blizzard conditions.

"We think putting explosives on the ice jam is the best option," Hoeven said at a news conference Tuesday. "We've identified a demolition team and we are arranging to fly them in to help with the placement of explosives."

Officials also were considering using salt to open up a river channel. Bismarck Mayor John Warford said the city has 1,800 pounds of salt available.

Jane and Michael Pole, of Fox Island, decided not to wait for any worse conditions. "We just grabbed a bag, threw some stuff in and left," Jane Pole said.

The Bismarck area got 7.5 inches of snow since Monday night, with winds gusting to more than 45 mph, the National Weather Service said. The snow was expected to continue into Wednesday morning.

Authorities transferred 146 inmates from the Missouri River Correctional Center, a minimum-security prison along the Missouri River, to the main state penitentiary. Deputy warden Patrick Branson said the river was close enough that officials "felt we had to get all those guys out of there."

Most flood concern earlier had been focused on North Dakota's biggest city, Fargo, and its neighbor Moorhead, Minn., where the Red River's crest of 39 to 41 feet was projected for Friday evening. It was recorded at 33.93 feet early Wednesday.

An emergency dike to protect downtown Fargo was being raised to 42 feet, but the expected crest would still threaten several neighborhoods and hundreds of homes in lower areas.

Hundreds of volunteers were at work on another day of piling sandbags, with a goal of filling nearly 2 million. "We don't see any fear," Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said. "We just see people working very hard."

In Crookston, Minn., about 50 miles northeast of Fargo, ice jams caused a sudden rise on the Red Lake and led city officials to ask about 200 people in low-lying areas to voluntarily evacuate. The city was working to raise its flood protection to withstand the river's crest later this week.

Elsewhere in Minnesota, a faster-than-predicted rise of the Sauk River led to flood warnings and sandbagging in Cold Spring and Sartell.

During a meeting of Fargo city officials, officials worked hard to dispel notions, relayed by a Salvation Army volunteer in the local newspaper, that some residents were afraid.

"Fear is a healthy emotion and creates respect for the situation," Steve Carbno, disaster coordinator for the Fargo chapter of the Salvation Army, said afterward.

"But nobody's bailing," he said. "We are Norwegian, German, stubborn and fighters. This is our place, and we'll stay here."

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On the Net:

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[Associated Press; By BLAKE NICHOLSON]

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