(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Dave Kolpack on April 6.)
FARGO, N.D. — Floodwaters were slowly going down throughout the area Wednesday, but not soon enough for a stranded farm family who called on the railroad to bring in supplies – for their horses.
The Red River was expected to slowly fall throughout the week, after cresting about 19 feet above flood stage. But some of its tributaries and overland flooding continued to force some residents to make do as best they could.
For Matt Smith, who raises show horses in rural West Fargo with his parents, it meant riding the rails. Flooding from the Sheyenne and Maple rivers covered all roads leading to their farmstead, so BNSF Railway came to the rescue.
The railroad hauled in 20 bags of pine shavings to serve as bedding for 10 horses.
“The railroad is our only way in and out,” Smith said. “In the bad flood of 1997, we walked the railroad tracks into town and rented a condo for three months.”
The Smiths raised their property four feet after the 1997 flood, and added a four-foot foundation and ring dike.
“We’ve got things under control,” Matt Smith said. “There’s a lot of water out there, but we’re in pretty good shape.”
Spokesman Gus Melonas said BNSF Railway was happy to help. “It’s kind of a unique way to help out,” he said.
One of Smith’s neighbors, Gary and Carol Duggan, also were using the railroad track as their walkway to dry land. The railroad often has given them rides or hauled supplies in a pickup truck adapted to rails.
“Those guys are really good,” Gary Duggan said. “They helped us haul a lot of gas down here in 1997. That year we had 11 and a half days with no power. With three of us pumping with the generator, it takes quite a bit of gas.”
One of Duggan’s neighbors lost a battle to keep his barn dry, a “small deal,” he said.
“Save your house, that’s the main thing,” Duggan said. “I never bother trying to save my barn. I let it go and clean it up. It gets to be a lot to try and handle.”
The Red River began cresting in Fargo at just over 37 feet on Tuesday afternoon, two feet shy of the 1997 flood, which was the city’s worst in a century.
At least two houses in Fargo and one house in Moorhead were lost to flooding this week, officials said. Water from the Sheyenne River caused problems north on Interstate 29, between Fargo and Harwood.
The water was three to four inches deep in some stretches Wednesday, but officials kept the highway open.
Officials said the high water is expected to continue into next week.
“(The crest) is going to be fairly prolonged,” National Weather Service meteorologist Vince Godon said.
The river was expected to be around 33 feet by the weekend, and below 30 feet – considered major flood stage – by next Tuesday, the weather service said.
Fargo’s public works director, Dennis Walaker, said Wednesday that it was too early to “pass the champagne and cigars,” but the crest was good news. He said it would take at least six days before the city reaches a “comfort level.”
Cass County emergency manager Dave Rogness estimated flood damage to roads and bridges in the county could total more than $1 million.