My adventures with the Red River

or
Rollicking Brown-water Fun

Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 13:18:21 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Oog!

Zounds!  What a weekend it's been!  Better start from the
beginning.
	Friday: rainy day.  Bleah.  Not too hard, just drizzle and
cold.  Everyone's talking about this huge storm coming in.
	Friday night: rain begins to freeze on everything in sight.
	Saturday morning: skating rink.  No travel advised.  Many
emergency calls for folks breaking bones from falling on the ice.  Many
car accidents.  I decide to stay indoors.
	Saturday afternoon: Everything is THICK with ice.  Winds are
coming up.  Freezing rain turns to sleet.  I decide to still stay
indoors.  Parents go out to dinner with friends (refuse my offer to
put two snow tires on their car (I had just taken them off last
weekend!), or borrow my cell phone).  My sister in Bismarck calls;
they have full blizzard conditions out there.  
	Saturday evening: TV cable fails.  I read, eat dinner.  Parents
return at 10 PM, report very icy conditions but no mishaps.  Cable is
partially restored (local channels).  Picture quality poor.  Problem:
2000 foot tall transmission tower carrying nearly every TV and radio
transmission for the local area collapsed due to ice loads and strong
wind gusts.  Some local stations broadcasting via emergency transmitters.
Weather guy says worse to come.  Joy.
	Saturday midnight: I awaken from a half-sleep by a beeping sound.
At first I think it is a sensor system I built to warn if water is
building up in the sump hole, but the pitch is wrong.  I awaken fully to
discover it's my cordless phone, unhappy because the power is fluctuating.
Power fails at 12:14 am.  I think: power failure means lift station
failure.  I rig another sensor for my water alarm and put it near the
floor drain in the basement.  The alarm should now go off if water
enters by sump or drain backup (the sensor is battery powered, thank
goodness!).  I go back to bed.
	Sunday morning: Power still off.  Brrr!  House at 63F.  Get
up, get dressed, check water sensor (still working, no alarms), go
upstairs.  Look outside window: worst blizzard conditions of the
year!  Wind gusts to 50 mph, heavy snow.  Parents are concerned, as
am I.
	Sunday noon: Need something to do!  I root around in all my
electronics junk, find a black and white TV that will run off
a 12 volt battery.  No 12v batteries to be found.  I jury rig two
9 volts together to make an 18v battery.  Only one station on the
air: 11 out of Fargo.  After watching for three minutes, they 
broadcast a message: their generator fuel supply is exhausted, they
will be going off the air.  Then static, no TV stations at all.
Grab portable radio: no FM stations on the air (even on my radio with
built in signal amp!).  AM: no Grand Forks stations on the air.
I find a Fargo station broadcasting and we listen.  Sounds bad.
Power is down all over the eastern part of the state.  With no power
to pump fuel and no travel possible, many radio and TV stations
dropping off the air when their generators run dry.  Storm conditions
in Fargo very bad.  Police threaten to arrest and detain people out
for no valid reason for 30 days, + $500 fine!  In Whapeton area (where
flooding was bad already), there are dike breaks reported.  Power and
phones are out.  Conditions make dike repair and sandbagging impossible
all along the Red.  Mayor of GF calls Fargo station to broadcast
news to GF (still no local stations on the air).  She says the
generator for the civic auditorium (emergency shelter) was started
with too great a load on it, and it burned out, leaving GF's only
emergency shelter with no power or heat.  Power is out over most of
Grand Forks.  Other people call in trying to get in touch with
relatives, or needing firewood or fuel for generators.  Basements
are flooding due to sump pump failure.  Many communities are running
out of water.  Governor declares major disaster, contacts White House.
	I drag out my camping gear, use sterno stove to heat water
for coffee and hot cocoa.  Temp in house now 55F.
	Sunday afternoon:  Storm lessening.  Temp still dropping.
Calls to friends and relatives reveal power is on in a few areas,
but spotty and unreliable.  Local TV station now on the air, but
broadcasting Indycar race in Miami (I'd love to watch normally, but
man, what are these folks thinking?).  Small TV runs jury rigged 
battery out of juice.  Back to radio.  More bad news.  Some towns
without power due to nearly all utility poles being broken by the
ice storm.  Crews still can't get out to fix them.  Main power
supply line towers collapsed from ice in some towns, estimates are
in the range of 3 to 5 days to fix!  Psychologists on radio, telling
folks not to panic, things will get better, etc.  
	Sunday Evening: Storm breaks!  Sunlight!!  Spirits rise quite
a bit in our household.  Local radio station (AM) now back on the
air.  I get my ham radio tuned to the emergency ops center repeater.
News is much better.  Emergency crews using snowmobiles and half-tracks
to ferry medical personnel and folks needing to be taken to shelters
around.  News is in from rest homes cut off by phone outages: successful
evacuation the night before.  Power crews now out to repair lines in
GF.  Going will be slow (many downed lines, damaged transformers).
	Sun going down.  Still no power.  Temp still falling.  
Dad and I start contingency planning for draining the pipes, setting
up a tent so family can share warmth.  Even with storm blown out,
spirits take a down-turn.  After a bunch of cold Spam for lunch, I
decide to make something hot for dinner, darnit!  Canned Cornbeef hash
never tasted so good.  We shut off circuits for all but a few lights,
to help protect from overload when power restored.  
	Darkness.  Five candles cast an eerie glow on our rather
unhappy faces.  Radio has nothing but promises of power and frustrated
folks calling in to complain.  Suddenly, power bumps on and off!
Everyone holds their breath.  Nothing.  Sigh.  One hour later, power
twitches again, then dies.  Street lights one block away come on and
glow constantly.  We dare to hope.  News from radio: power crews
being pulled in for the night.  One crew says they'll stay out until
they encounter serious problems.  20 minutes later: power comes on!
We wait 5 minutes, then I turn on the furnace.  Temp has dropped to 52F.
After temp rises to 70F, (about 1 am), fridge turned on.  I go to
bed, very tired.  
	Monday morning: I sleep in, since the president of the U 
has declared no school or work today.  Boss calls: can I come in and
update web stuff.  I say I'll try.  Power to all major appliances restored 
(freezer, hot water heater).  Power and water consumption still kept as 
small as reasonable.  May areas still have no power.  I get up, get dressed, 
shave two days worth of stubble from my face.
	Car: still coated with ice, 1/8" deep in places.  Engine
compartment has much snow.  With help of much alcohol, drivers
door is finally freed.  Engine swept out, started, heater melts
a layer of ice underneath, making it possible to remove enough ice
to make a viewing porthole on the windshield.  Rocking the car
out of the snow is difficult with the summer tires I put on last
weekend (^#*#@*&$&*@!!!).  I still manage.  Drive to work consists
of slalom through MANY stalled vehicles.  Crews have opened major roads,
though, so I am able to get to work.  I break my ice scraper trying
to get the last bit of ice off the windows.  Sigh.
	Current: I'm at work, still a bit tired from the ordeal.
Things still aren't over for many folks, and I wish them the best.
I kick myself for not buying the generator I was planning to get
earlier (I'm sure there won't be one available for love nor money
for a while).  Military helicopters are flying low over the city
to survey power lines for the power crews.  The flood is still coming,
but hopefully delayed a bit by the cold weather.  It ain't over
yet!
	
Take care, and stay warm!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 12 Apr 97 07:50:28 EDT
From: Paul Erickson
Subject: Back on line....

Hello all,

	This is the first chance I have had to get on the computer in over a
week.  Sadly to say, it has been that long since I have been able to look at
Hale-Bopp.  That nasty blizzard that went through really made a mess of things.
I hope everyone fared ok, I really haven't even had time to read the paper, or
watch the news to see how the rest of the city did.  I was able to listen to
KCNN off and on though, so I'm not completely clueless.  We all know we lost
power for an extended period of time.  
	I worked saturday for flood preparations, and then got called in Saturday
night to work on storm related problems.  I was unfortunate to have the
experience to have to work though the worst part of the storm.  Different parts
of town already lost power, so we were recalled to work on isolating faults.
About 12:30, it was decided we had to go out to the Industrial Park substation
to open a line so that WAPA could refeed the line from the south.  By this time,
the wind was blowing very hard as you know.  It was hard to see, visibility in
town was less than a block and traveling was slow.  We got close to Hwy 2 and
220 near Hugo's and there were deep drifts, with a topiary of stalled cars.  We
tried to weave in and out of them in our FWD truck, but got stuck.  Not a good
start to a long night.  After about 15 minutes, we were dug out.  We continued
on to Industrial Park, which is east of the intersection on Hwy 2, out in the
open country.
	As soon as we started heading east, visibility reduced even further.  By
the time we were adjacent to Pamida, we could barely see the road.  In order to
see, I had to open my window, stick my head out so I could see the white line.
I was passing constant updates to Jeff so he could steer.  "Come a little
right... straighten out...  a bit right again... straighten out... now left"  We
were doing about 4-5 miles per hour, and having to stop occasionally for
*complete* white-outs.  There were still a few streetlights on, but we could
only see one at a time when we made our closest approach to it.  This is one
time I actually appreciated the things.  We eventually ran out of streetlights
though, and ventured on slowly as before.  After awhile, we saw some lights
pointing up into the sky.  Then a white-out and they were gone.  Then they were
there again, and we realized it was someone in a ditch.  As we got closer we
realized they were stuck on the access road to our substation.  We pulled in and
ventured out to see if there was anyone inside.  I strapped on my hard hat,
stepped out side, and the full force of the wind immediately ripped the hat off
my head, gone in less than half a second.  Thankfully it did not take my liner
and wool hat I was wearing.
	We headed for the what turned out to be a small truck.  As the wind
pushed us toward it,  we could see someone inside.  OOOOPS!  The wind pushed us
right past, and we overshot into the drift that was forming around the truck.
Grabbing on, and reducing our wind sail area, we made it back to the truck.  We
knocked, louder, pounded and tried opening the doors.  The guy finally woke
up... he was full to the top with beer, and had some still in the front seat.  I
thought *what a bad night to pick to get drunk and go for a drive in the
country*.  The guy had one shoe on, one shoe off, and only a light coat that he
was using for a blanket.  His truck was still on, and heater going so we left
him for the substation.
	Once we got to the gate, we got lucky.  It was not drifted in yet.  We
opened the gate, climbed over a two foot drift inside the fence and got lucky
again.  There was only a little snow in front of the building door.  We finally
reached our destination, after setting out an hour ago.  A trip that normally
takes five minutes.
	We got the keys to the switch we needed to open, and got clearance to
proceed to open it.  We headed out the door for a 50 foot journey to the switch.
The wind was blowing so hard, we had to shoulder in to the wind to make
progress.  After a few steps, and a few steps more, we realized we were heading
the wrong way.  The gate was looming in front of us, we were heading north, we
should have been at the tower, heading east!  We managed to get lost, and turned
around in a distance of less than fifty feet!  We finally made it to the switch,
and our luck ran out.  The lock was frozen and we broke our key.  I volunteered
to go back to the truck to get a bolt cutter.  A trip that took me nearly 20
minutes, when the truck was parked 150 yards away.  I did stop and check on the
drunk though.
	When we finally finished our work (to no avail, there were faults on the
north bound and south bound line), the snow drift that we easily climbed over
before was now up to about six or seven feet.  There was no way we could close
the gate, so we picked up the drunk and headed for town.  By this time, another
line truck had joined us.  We tried to find the turn around to get into the west
bound lane.  We searched, and searched on foot, and finally found it.  By this
time, one of the trucks had died, and we had to jump start it.  What an ordeal.
We finally got it started, and then I played point guard to get the two trucks
turned around, and onto the turn around, and then on to the west bound lane.
The only way the drivers could see was for me to direct them with a flashlight,
fifteen feet in front of the truck.  Once we got on the road, we traveled
snail-pace back into town.  A job that should have only taken one-half hour
lasted almost five hours.  It was now almost 5:00 AM.
	I have been through a few typhoons, and hurricanes and been outside with
winds up to 90 mph.  Judging by the effort required to stand still, walk into
the wind, and by the wind push I experienced in this storm, I estimated the
winds at 40-45 sustained, with gusts of 60 and maybe as high as 70 at times.  A
bit short of the strongest winds I have had to venture out in to, but still
pretty nasty.  In retrospect, I think I would rather have experienced a tropical
storm.  At least you know you won't freeze to death.  We were lucky the storm
came when temperatures were above zero.
	Since then, I have managed to put in almost forty hours of overtime, and
there is nothing but more in sight.  We have repaired most of our lines, but we
still have flood work to do.  It has been a long week, and I look forward to the
ebb of the flow of the Red River of the North, and the Red Lake River.
	Hope you didn't get bored reading this.  It's as much to myself, so I
will remember,  as to you all.  I hope we talk about this blizzard for another
fifty years, as that will mean it has not been surpassed.
	Clear skies  (for a long time, I hope). Paul.

Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 17:37:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood status

Howdy.
	Well, the word is now that the crest of the Red River should
occur this coming weekend (19th - 22nd range) at 49 feet.  Our 
emergency management folks have drawn up plans to evacuate the city,
should that become necessary (it probably won't).  They are also 
building a dike near the Columbia Road fire station, stretching from
Gateway drive to 6th avenue.  That's never happened before, so it's
sure got our attention (our house is about two blocks from there).
That's where the English Coulee is (but even in '79 it didn't get
that close).  I wonder if they know something they're not telling
us... B).  Fargo has all their stuff built and is now playing the
waiting game (the water has supposedly crested there, two feet
below prediction, so there is guarded optimism).  
	It's nice to know folks are ready for anything, but it's 
still pretty unsettling to read about plans if there are major dike
breaks, power failure, phone and cable failure, etc.  I'll keep ya
posted.  If you want more info, check out our flood page:
http://www.rwic.und.edu/flood
I do little else but work on that these days, and I'm still way behind
B(.  Better to be behind on that than sandbagging I guess...



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 09:35:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood status

Greetings!
	The river is now (9:00 am) at 47.67 feet and rising (up over
two feet overnight).  Predicted crest is now 50', probably reached
this weekend (looks like sooner than that, but we'll see).  The
point bridge was closed two days ago, and last night the Sorlie
bridge joined the closed list.  The Kennedy bridge is still open,
and should remain that way for the duration (as long as the 50'
prediction is accurate).  Evacuation phase plans have been laid out
to the public in case the worst happens.  400 resident of East Grand
Forks will be evacuated today from two neighborhoods near the river.
They can visit their homes during the day (provided they have passes
to show the National Guard troops that will be providing security),
but must not be in the area after dark.  No plans as of yet to 
evacuate anyone in Grand Forks.  Sandbagging has started
in earnest on the UND campus.  The English Coulee is starting to
back up, and has jumped about three feet in height.  The diversion is
working, but is only diverting about %50 of the water from the Coulee
away from the city.  The town is abuzz with military and civilian
trucks and helicopters, it's quite a sight.
	Fargo is still doing fairly well.  A dike near city hall
sprung a serious leak yesterday, but was repaired before it gave
way.  NDSU has called off classes so students and faculty can help
sandbag.  
	UND is still holding classes, and the president has said he
intends to keep the normal final exam schedule unless there is a
catastrophe.  Interstate 29 will be closed today north of Grand
Forks, between GF and Grafton.  I-29 has been closed a week between
here and Fargo, due to water on the road.  
	A reservoir south of Whapeton was forced to open its flood
gates yesterday due to faster than expected level rises.  This water
is headed our way B(.  I guess it's better to have a controlled 
problem than to have them burst a dam and have an uncontrolled disaster.
	We've added a weather forecast section to our flood page.  So
far, the page has generated over 20,000 hits since last week, when it
had to be moved to a new server (all the traffic was paralyzing our
main web server).  I have been streamlining it in many places, and
there are still more places it needs work (I guess web pages are
never really done B).  
	That's about it for now.  I may have to help a friend sandbag
his parents farmhouse this weekend, if we can get to it (since they
store my 'race car', trailer, and moped there free of charge, I feel
I can't deny any request for help they make).  I'll keep you posted.



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 11:00:07 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood update (2)

11:00 am.  River now at 47.84 feet.  Parts of 32nd Avenue and 
Gateway Drive now closed (underwater).  UND president has canceled
classes from 2:00 pm on, and all Thursday's classes so students and
faculty can fight the flood.  

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 09:55:33 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood status 4-17, am

Good morning to all.
	The latest is that the flood crest prediction has yet again
been raised.  NWS claims that the river will reach 50 to 50.5 feet
between Sunday and Tuesday.  A look at the river gauge data here
reveals that we will probably hit 50 THIS AFTERNOON, so I think
their estimate is a wee bit conservative.  Then again, you don't
want to panic folks.  The mayor was on TV last night to tell folks
we are at defcon 3 (oops, sorry, PHASE 3) of the evacuation plans
for parts of GF.  That means folks who live on Riverside, Belmont,
and a few other roads near the Red are being strongly urged to
evacuate ASAP.  EOC has told everyone to put in their drain plugs
and those evacuating should shut off power and gas.  
	Parts of Crookston are also being evacuated.  Aerial photos
taken by folks here (and on our web page!) show water basically to
the horizon.  You might mistake some pictures of countryside for
images of the Arctic Ocean, complete with icebergs (a closer look
reveals a few trees and roads, however).  Overland flooding makes
river level estimates difficult.  The water has no place to go, so
it just rolls over the landscape, heading generally north.
	Fargo still in one piece, a few houses lost last night, no
other news.  
	New river level: 49.86 feet as of 9:36 am.  We'll see 50 feet
before noon, if my guess is right!  
	No word from the Canadians yet, but I'm sure they're sucking
up their seat cushions.  Satellite images reveal that they are still
frozen up there, so the water will have to go overland when it reaches
them.
	Our GOES dish is still down, but we are receiving data over
the internet from SeaSpace (at least that much is working again).
Space Studies' AVHRR receiver is not yet back from Quorum yet, but
should be here by the end of the week.  That system would provide
the best images, other than the aerial photos.  Even on GOES images,
you can see the widening of the river (check out the satellite images
section of our flood page).
	I gotta run, but I'll keep you informed.

Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 09:58:17 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood status 4-18, am

Greetings, friends.
	Wow.  It's been nuts here!  Leaks developed in the Lincoln
Drive dike yesterday.  The sirens were sounded and people started
to evacuate.  Today, as of 9:30 am, the river is at 51.92 feet and
still rising.  At 4 am, emergency operations went to phase 4 
evacuation plans.  Civil defense sirens all over the city started
wailing at 6 am.  Lincoln Drive, Belmont Road, Central Park, and other
areas are under mandatory evacuation orders.  There are flash flood
warnings for these areas.  All of Grand Forks is in an overland flood
warning area.  Sewers are backing up in some areas.  The city is 
rationing water use (no showers today, pew!).  Police are giving out
$500 tickets to any sightseers they find in flood areas.  
	A personal victory last night: I finally managed to remove
our downstairs toilet that's been there for over 30 years.  The
mount bolts disintegrated rather than unscrewed, there was no
shut-off valve on the water supply line (I installed one), and I
had to chisel away a wax seal that was very brittle and VERY stinky.
Having my halogen worklamp baking me the whole time didn't help.  I
had to sand down part of the plug and hammer it in rather forcefully,
but it is in and tight.  I put the last drain cap on last night, and
put the sump pump in its hole today, as well as getting the tubing
ready to run out the window.  We have no water in our house yet,
knock on wood.  But we are ready (well, as ready as we'll be, I guess).
I'm at work, and things are a bit sparse.  I'm trying to get our
flood page updated, but we have no new images yet.  I've added 
links to USGS and a few other info sources.  We're getting nice
email from folks saying how useful the page has been (that's kinda
nice), and Senator Dorgan's office is downloading our aerial photos
every day to keep folks there up to date (cool, man!).  I better get
back to work, but I'll keep you informed (if I don't float away first B).

Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 15:07:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood update 4-18, 2:45 pm

Oof.  2:45 pm.  River level 52.35 feet and still rising.  The dike
on Lincoln Drive has collapsed.  Many houses destroyed.  Coulee
continues to rise.  River is pouring over some dikes.  Many people
close to panic.  Much chaos.  More later.

Courage!

Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 18:49:19 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects --
Subject: Flood update, 4-18, 6:26 pm

River level now 52.6 and fluctuating.  Folks just back from flyover
report homes in the Lincoln Drive area almost totally submerged.
Water continues to pour over the dikes in that neighborhood.
Senator Conrad is talking to the President about possibly evacuating
the entire city of Grand Forks.  Work continues to try to keep water
away from the Kennedy Bridge.  This is gonna be one hell of a weekend.

Thanks to those of you who have offered to drive to GF and help out.
My parents and I are safe, and will most likely remain that way
unless truly amazing things happen.  I think the best thing folks can
do for now is to stay away, since the situation is so dynamic.
I'll try to keep you up to date.


Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 20:27:15 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood update, 4-18, 8:28 pm

Check the RWIC page for amazing images of dikes leaking and overflowing.
River now at 52.62 feet.  New crest prediction: 54.5 feet.  I don't
know if we have to evac or not, but if you don't hear from me, don't
worry.  Talk to y'all when I can!

Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 12:47:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Flood update: 4-19, 12:36 pm

Greetings from UND (the University of Natural Disasters).
	River level is 52.89 feet and holding.  We lost our water
treatment plant last night.  Residents are supposed to boil water
from the tap before using.  Water supply is what remains in the
towers.  Officials say that it will take about a week for the water
to lower enough to get back to the plant, then one to two weeks to get
it back up and operational.  The Mayor has called for a voluntary
evacuation of the entire city.  University Avenue looks like that scene
from "Independence Day", where the fleet of RVs and campers is crossing
the desert.  The exodus has begun!
	My mother and I will be heading for Bismarck today to stay
with my sister for a while.  Dad is staying to look after the house.
We have no water, and the dike a block away seems to be holding, so
there should be no problem (the dike is only two feet high in our neighbor
hood, so a break would only mean water in the basement).  I'll probably
return after a week to look after the place, while my Dad goes to
Bismarck.
	The Air Base has set up an evac center in their hangers that will
hold 6,000 people.  About 4,000 are expected from the various neighbor-
hoods destroyed when the Lincoln dike gave way.  Other refugees are
being sent to places like Crookston, Minto, Jamestown, etc.  My sister
and her boyfriend are safely out of EGF and are staying in a casino
about 100 miles from here.
	Last night, more sirens about 4:30 am, and a national guard
Huey helicopter has been buzzing the city constantly, sweeping it
with a searchlight.  Aircraft and big trucks continue to swarm all
over the city.
	Baker declared the university session officially ended today.
Students were encouraged to pack up and leave ASAP.  NorthWest is
providing additional aircraft to get people out.  
	Thanks to the folks who called us up yesterday to offer 
emotional support.  Paul, I didn't have to do my radio communications
thing, since they already had enough operators last night, so that
was no sweat (the shelter was not a mass of crying people anyway, so
it would have been no big deal).  
	Since I'm leaving, this may be my last communication via
the internet for some time.  Please don't worry, this will all work
out.  Nature sure has been a mother this year, but it looks like summer
has finally arrived. 
	This has been a hell of a thing, but as far a disasters go,
I'd take this over a quake, volcano, tornado, or hurricane any day.

Date: Sun, 20 Apr 1997 15:04:41 -0500 (CDT)
From: John C Nordlie 
Subject: Back online!

Hi guys.  I can't get to my normal email machine,
so I turned off forwarding on my plains account, and will
use it for all email until further notice.

I also couldn't get to my nicknames file, so I'm guessing
on a bunch of folks addresses, hoping to get one right
and ask them to cut the address header off a message
I sent to 'the usual suspects'.  That will get me most
of my important email addresses.

Latest on GF: mandatory evac, city-wide.  Downtown fires
now under control.  Coast Guard bringing in fire-boats to
help fight it.  GF fire dept put two fire trucks on
flatbed trailer trucks and managed to get them to the
blaze.  Helicopters with dump buckets and water bombers
still working on hot spots.  6 buildings destroyed.

On the way to Bismarck, I saw two National Guard
bridge layers and a pontoon bridge headed towards
GF, as well as six 5-ton trucks with military patrol
boats loaded on them.  Looks like the NG has been
mobilized state-wide.  Paul Abell reports that the
Canadian Army has invaded, er, is helping with flood
fighting efforts in the areas north of GF. B)

Talk to you all later.

Date: Sun, 27 Apr 1997 23:45:13 -0500 (CDT)
From: "John C. Nordlie" 
To: The Usual Suspects -- 
Subject: Yet another interesting weekend.

I know, I always use that subject when I've done something fun or
weird or whatever that just makes most of you shake your head and
smile about their weird friend.  Unfortunately, this weekend was a
bit of a bummer.
	We went back to GF today to survey the situation.  Our
neighborhood was opened to the public yesterday, but we were not
yet prepared to come back (for one thing, the butt-head at the
store here in Bismarck was wrong about the pump I bought having
oil in the engine already, so I was determined to assemble and
test everything before we left).  We left Bismarck bright and
early today (Sunday).  After an uneventful trip, we arrived at about
12:30 pm.  Campus looks ok.  Coulee has dropped about 6 feet, I'd
say.  CAS and ATRC had enough satellite trucks, command trailers,
and mobile homes to run the space program.  Power was still out
to most areas (stop signs set up at major intersections).  UND
police were chasing most folks away from campus.
	Our neighborhood had some water in the street at the
end of the block (storm sewers being overtaxed by residents pumping).
My car, alas, has watermarks up to it's poor little headlights.
Battery completely dead.  Interior wet, muddy, and smelly (water got
over the seat cushions, so it may be a write-off, we'll see).
No signs of looting or other mischief at the house, but watermarks
on foundation.  Shallow window wells had no water, but the
two deep ones did.  Talks with neighbors and a look-see down the
stairs revealed: water about two feet short of the floor joists.
Rather disheartening, I must say B(.  Oh well, could be worse!
(actually it was, floating ceiling tiles revealed water had
completely filled the basement, then receded a bit.)
First level of our house was untouched by water.  Mom and sister
Margaret took on the unenviable task of emptying the fridge of 
what can loosely be called food, while Dad and I set up the pump.
The stop I installed on the window I put the sump pump drain hose
out was meant to keep folks from entering the house that way.
It did a really effective job keeping me and the 2" pump hose
out as well.  I guess I was over-efficient again.  The suction 
hose was run through a diningroom window, then down the stairwell.
After a few abortive attempts at priming, we finally got the pump
to start pulling a steady stream of water.  The Red Cross was by
in their van to give out food and drink, while we planned our next
move.  Dad's plan involved sitting in a lawn chair and talking to
the neighbors, while I donned a pair of waders, elbow length rubber
gloves, and descended the stairs as much as I could.  Wow, you'd
never figure water could be that cold!  My breath was plainly
visible, and even the insulated waders didn't keep the cold from
numbing my legs.  I snapped some pics from the stairs.  Mostly
floating stuff (let's see, there is an upright player piano,
chair, chest, bookshelf, half the bar, and various miscellaneous
items from the various storage racks and rooms in the lower level.)
I used a broom to rescue (or retrieve and throw away) as much as I
could reach and lift.  Some items (my guns, tv, tapes, stereo,
bed, books, etc) will have to wait until enough water is drained
that I can enter the basement.  After two hours of pumping, the
pump ran out of gas, and after I refilled the tank, cranked it,
and cussed at it good, our neighbor told me you had to choke
Briggs & Stratton engines even when they're hot (wow, you learn
something new every day).  We ended up pumping about two feet of
water out of the basement, and called it a day (there was talk 
about storm sewers being overloaded again by the chorus of pumps
running all over the neighborhood, and I started to hear some
rather ominous snapping or cracking sounds, which could have been
anything, but I sure as hell wasn't going to stay around there if
the house was going to fall on me!)  The water table is still
fairly high, and some folks had pumped out two feet yesterday,
only to find a foot had returned during the night.  I sure
wish all this water would go away!
	Anyway, I'm back in Bismarck, and in much need of some
shut-eye, so goodnight all! And a big thanks to those who've
given us emotional support through this rather large-sized pain
in the posterior.