FLOODING, FIRE CLEAR OUT TOWN : N. DAKOTA RESIDENTS HEED WARNINGS AS BLOATED RIVER KEEPS RISING.Byline: Dirk Johnson Dirk Johnson (born June 1, 1975 in Hoxie, Kansas) is an American football punter who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1998. He played college football at Northern Colorado. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times As most of the last die-hards fled Sunday from this unlivable city, struck by flood and fire, residents began coming to grips with the knowledge that it may be weeks before they can return. The supply of drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. has run out and the sewage, oil and animal carcasses fouling the flood waters have prompted fears of disease. And to give this battered region the feel of a plague, a fire downtown added to the misery over the weekend. Flames destroyed three buildings and damaged several others. The fire's cause is still unknown. ``It's a ghost town ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old buildings, which may serve as tourist attractions. ,'' said Clint Blomquist as he headed out of Grand Forks Grand Forks, city (1990 pop. 49,425), seat of Grand Forks co., E N.Dak., at the confluence of the Red and the Red Lake rivers; inc. 1881. In a spring wheat, livestock, and farm area, the city has grain elevators, state-operated flour mills, and plants that process in a red pickup truck, giving a lift to other refugees: two women and a 5-year-old boy. ``It's devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. .'' In what is being called a 500-year flood, the river rose to more than 53 feet Sunday, nearly twice the flood stage. The National Weather Service predicted that the river would crest today at about 54 feet. Water has flowed into about 70 percent of Grand Forks, a city of roughly 10 square miles. Mayor Pat Owens has urged the city's 50,000 residents to evacuate. An Air Force base west of town is being used as a shelter. More than 3,000 people fleeing the flood had checked into the base Sunday. The flooding was even more extensive in East Grand Forks, across the border in Minnesota, where nearly the entire town of more than 8,500 people was flooded. Patients at the only hospital in Grand Forks, United Hospital, were being transferred to other medical centers in the Northern Plains. A line of ambulances stood outside the hospital in case a wholesale evacuation was suddenly needed. Engineers hastily constructed a ring dike around United Hospital and a nearby nursing home, and National Guard soldiers set up water purification equipment. LuAnn Holton, 51, who had been driven from her flooded home, said her elderly aunt was being transferred from United Hospital by helicopter to Bemidji, Minn. Holton was on her way there to see her aunt Sunday night but was unsure where she would find lodging. Her grandson, Jonathan, 5, sat next to her in Blomquist's pickup and buried his head in his hands. ``I don't like this,'' he said. As of Sunday, there had been no reports of serious injuries or deaths related to the flooding, and a neighborly neigh·bor·ly adj. Having or exhibiting the qualities of a friendly neighbor. neigh  bor·li·ness n.Adj. 1. , frontier spirit seemed to prevail. On the radio in Grand Forks, a steady stream of callers offered shelter in their homes for the displaced, as well as food, cribs and transportation. ``We've all lost a lot,'' one caller said, noting the need to stick together, ``and we're going to lose a lot more.'' The fire in downtown Grand Forks Downtown Grand Forks is the original commercial center of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Located on the western bank of the Red River of the North, the downtown neighborhood is situated near the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River. erupted Saturday afternoon. The water was so deep in the streets that fire trucks could not get to the burning buildings at first. The fire was tamed Sunday as helicopters dropped water on it and fire trucks reached the area on giant flatbeds. The nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base Grand Forks Air Force Base (Grand Forks AFB or GFAFB) (IATA: RDR, ICAO: KRDR) is a base of the United States Air Force located in Grand Forks County, North Dakota 15 miles (24 km) west of the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota on U.S. Highway 2. sent a pumper truck that was big enough to navigate the deep water. ``We were scared last night for a while,'' said Deputy Fire Chief Peter O'Neill. Three firefighters were treated for hypothermia hypothermia Abnormally low body temperature, with slowing of physiological activity. It is artificially induced (usually with ice baths) for certain surgical procedures and cancer treatments. . Public schools will be closed for at least a week. Classes at the University of North Dakota have been canceled for the remaining two weeks of the term. Despite the evacuation orders, some stragglers in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks remained defiant, apparently determined to protect their homes. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Firefighters in downtown Grand Forks ride a pumper truck past the Securities Building, which was destroyed in a devastating blaze. Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service |
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