BISMARCK, N.D., - About 120 Soldiers and Airmen from the North Dakota National Guard were dismissed from state active duty today, bringing the number of Guardsmen still serving on flood support to about 260.
That's down from a high of 750 on duty this past week. The number is expected to drop to under 100 by this weekend, Guard officials said.
"We're working side-by-side with community volunteers and leaders ensuring that there's enough effort to protect lives and property in the city of Fargo and throughout North Dakota," said Army Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, the adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard.
This year's flood flight proved to be a major contrast with 2009, which resulted in Guardsmen being on duty for nearly 100 days all across North Dakota.
The damages caused by the 2009 floods led the North Dakota National Guard to begin preparing for the 2010 flood operations months in advance. Local areas were listed as being under flood emergency status in mid-February and the Guard began actively preparing for potential flood operations. Weather ideal for a moderate melt also made for an easier fight in 2010.
"Our men and women in uniform help to make sure that whatever needs to get done gets done," said Gov. John Hoeven. "Although we remain vigilant, we would like to extend our thanks to them, their families and their employers, as well as to all of the men and women in communities around North Dakota who have fought and who continue to fight flooding in our state."
Hoeven called up Soldiers and Airmen for state active duty March 15, officially marking the beginning of the 2010 flood fight for the North Dakota Guard.
The Guard has been fully engaged in Fargo, Kindred, Harwood, Wahpeton, LaMoure, Lisbon and Jamestown. Guardsmen helped by patrolling dikes, performing emergency sandbagging operations, manning traffic control points, distributing and placing sandbags, facilitating dike construction and working as 'quick response force' teams to respond to emergencies.
Quick response force teams jumped in to serve on several occasions, including a response to a break in a levee that threatened a man's house near Kindred where Guardsmen shored up a dike and helped rescue the man's livestock.
Just one evacuation mission was performed this year, for an elderly lady near Harwood. Quick response force teams remain on duty in both Hickson and Harwood to respond to any future flooding threats.
The flood fight may be winding down in many locations, but monitoring state rivers is still a priority for the National Guard. The Guard will continue to keep an eye on the lower Red River, Sheyenne, Cannonball, Heart, and Knife rivers as well as Beaver Creek and Apple Creek to ensure overland flooding does not get too severe and any ice remaining in the rivers does not cause jams.
"The bottom line is whenever we're called upon, the Guard will be ready, the Guard will be there," Sprynczynatyk said.