FARGO, N.D. - Water from the Red River seeped past a water barrier at 1:15 a.m. yesterday morning, and began to fill the Oak Grove Lutheran School.
Members from the South Dakota Army National Guard's 1742nd Transportation Company, North Dakota Army National Guard's 957th Multi-Role Bridge Company (MRBC), Army Corps of Engineers, Oak Grove faculty and local residents responded to the dike breach by pumping water from the school's courtyard and buildings to keep water from spreading throughout.
Guardsmen worked around the clock stacking sandbags, positioning pumps and barricading the other three buildings on campus to protect them from water damage. The success at Oak Grove can be credited to a team effort.
After the 1997 flood, preparations were made that kept the recent influx of water and damage to a minimum.
"The kids at Oak Grove worked hard around the campus to defend against the rising water," said Becky Richards, mother of two Oak Grove students and resident of Morehead, Minn. "It's unfortunate the new flood wall didn't work as planned. My kids are shocked their efforts didn't win the fight (against the flood)."
During the current flooding, men and women in uniform are walking the dikes, patrolling parts of town, and even directing traffic.
"A lot of people are happy to see us," said Sgt. Matt Wells of Sioux Falls, S.D., and member of the 1742nd Transportation Company. "Kids are shaking our hands, and that's a really good feeling. We're all more than happy to be up here giving a helping hand, and it's really great to see how positive the people are."
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters dropped "sand bombs," two 1,000-pound bags of sand used to reduce gushing water from a breech in the dike, allowing time for authorities to take further action.
This same advanced breach mitigation technique was used during Hurricane Katrina.
"We helped save a school this morning," added Wells. "We got to work with community members on this site and it went really well. Some were stressed, but everyone is really motivated to get in there and make a difference."
Soldiers lined up to form chains to move countless numbers of sandbags for several hours around buildings and against the dike. Their goal was to reach the problem area in the wall.
However, the distance between the dry dike and the hole in the flood wall was longer than officials expected. To speed up the process, Soldiers used motorized rafts to reach the leak.
The 957th MRBC used a boat to inspect a leak in the middle of the permanent dike. Once the problem spot was pin pointed, they started hauling sandbags on the boat to plug the hole.
Units worked into the night and continue to stabilize and monitor the dike.
"It's great being up here helping the community protect buildings and seeing things get done. The people really came together to protect their homes and that's a great thing to see," said
Pvt. Nicholas Vandekieft of the 1742nd.