A storm system that brought heavy rains throughout the region last week and now again at the outset of this week led to an emergency meeting in Devils Lake Monday afternoon.
Ramsey County Commission Chairman Joe Belford brought together those who work in emergency services and law enforcement around the county to discuss how to deal with deteriorating roads and flash flooding should emergency services be needed.
Elvera Snyder from the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center’s 911 said, “Fortunately there haven’t been any big emergencies, but as time goes on and more and more roads become impassable, it may just be a matter of time.”
The big concern? How would an ambulance or a fire truck reach most of the rural areas? Most ambulances weigh at least one ton and the Devils Lake Rural Fire Department’s Fire Trucks weight 40,000 lbs. Almost all township roads and most county roads are deteriorating more and more each day, whether because they are underwater or the roadbed is undermined by the super-saturated ground, according to Ramsey County Roads Supervisor Kevin Fieldsend.
Belford, speaking to the officials in Bismarck who were present for the meeting via conference call, asked about the possibility of having a helicopter available should a health emergency arise in any portion of the basin where roads are inundated, blocked or too soft for heavy emergency equipment.
Who would foot the cost for that, should a helicopter be needed, was one of the things discussed.
Even US Highway 2 and other Federal Aid roads are having problems, Belford told the officials in Bismarck. Highway 2 had water across both lanes Monday morning in two locations, however, by the afternoon it was only at the Penn location that water was still flowing across the four-lane highway.
Lance Gaebe, representing Gov. John Hoeven’s office on the phone, requested a map or some other way to identify those farms and homes that were isolated so they could have some idea of how many people were in jeopardy.
“It’s critical we know about those isolated sites and the number of people affected. There is a great concern for life and safety here,” Gaebe said.
Belford said their purpose in calling the emergency meeting was to discuss the deteriorating condition of area roads and how, if needed, emergency services could be rerouted or provided to those most vulnerable.
The one thing working in their favor is that the disaster declaration signed earlier this year is still open, therefore federal assistance may be available to help.
Emergency Manager Tim Heisler expressed his deep concern that things were just going to continue to get worse and worse as each day another record is set in lake levels.
Eric Kaeding stood up at the end of the meeting and expressed his concern for his family’s safety. The last road into his farm six miles south of Penn went under Sunday night, early Monday.
He has a 10-month-old baby who has health problems and has had to be hospitalized recently.
“I can put him in the truck and meet the ambulance at the highway, if I have to. But how long will I be able to do that?” Kaeding asked.
Belford asked that communication continue among the various entities involved in the event that an emergency occur.
“We would need to act quickly, that’s why it’s important we address these issues before something terrible happens, so we could be prepared,” he said.
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A storm system that brought heavy rains throughout the region last week and now again at the outset of this week led to an emergency meeting in Devils Lake Monday afternoon.
Ramsey County Commission Chairman Joe Belford brought together those who work in emergency services and law enforcement around the county to discuss how to deal with deteriorating roads and flash flooding should emergency services be needed.
Elvera Snyder from the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center’s 911 said, “Fortunately there haven’t been any big emergencies, but as time goes on and more and more roads become impassable, it may just be a matter of time.”
The big concern? How would an ambulance or a fire truck reach most of the rural areas? Most ambulances weigh at least one ton and the Devils Lake Rural Fire Department’s Fire Trucks weight 40,000 lbs. Almost all township roads and most county roads are deteriorating more and more each day, whether because they are underwater or the roadbed is undermined by the super-saturated ground, according to Ramsey County Roads Supervisor Kevin Fieldsend.
Belford, speaking to the officials in Bismarck who were present for the meeting via conference call, asked about the possibility of having a helicopter available should a health emergency arise in any portion of the basin where roads are inundated, blocked or too soft for heavy emergency equipment.
Who would foot the cost for that, should a helicopter be needed, was one of the things discussed.
Even US Highway 2 and other Federal Aid roads are having problems, Belford told the officials in Bismarck. Highway 2 had water across both lanes Monday morning in two locations, however, by the afternoon it was only at the Penn location that water was still flowing across the four-lane highway.
Lance Gaebe, representing Gov. John Hoeven’s office on the phone, requested a map or some other way to identify those farms and homes that were isolated so they could have some idea of how many people were in jeopardy.
“It’s critical we know about those isolated sites and the number of people affected. There is a great concern for life and safety here,” Gaebe said.
Belford said their purpose in calling the emergency meeting was to discuss the deteriorating condition of area roads and how, if needed, emergency services could be rerouted or provided to those most vulnerable.
The one thing working in their favor is that the disaster declaration signed earlier this year is still open, therefore federal assistance may be available to help.
Emergency Manager Tim Heisler expressed his deep concern that things were just going to continue to get worse and worse as each day another record is set in lake levels.
Eric Kaeding stood up at the end of the meeting and expressed his concern for his family’s safety. The last road into his farm six miles south of Penn went under Sunday night, early Monday.
He has a 10-month-old baby who has health problems and has had to be hospitalized recently.
“I can put him in the truck and meet the ambulance at the highway, if I have to. But how long will I be able to do that?” Kaeding asked.
Belford asked that communication continue among the various entities involved in the event that an emergency occur.
“We would need to act quickly, that’s why it’s important we address these issues before something terrible happens, so we could be prepared,” he said.
