UPDATE 4/8/19 3:50 p.m.
The City of Crookston has activated the Ward command posts in Wards 1, 4 and 5 as of this afternoon said City of Crookston Finance Director Angel Weasner. “Today we have activated three of the Ward command spots with volunteers and dike patrols,” said Weasner. “Apparently there has been some overland flooding on Pirate Drive and the CSC Frontage Road. They are still covered and Polk County is working to open the ditch east of the Pirate Drive. The flow west has been functioning at full capacity since last night.”
The City continues to monitor ice buildup for jamming. “We have been monitoring all the ice jams that had been occurring,” said Weasner. “We’re monitoring all the river levels as needed and looking at least every half hour for major changes on the river level.”
The latest crest prediction has the river cresting Tuesday near 26 feet and had risen to its highest point during this event as of 2:45 p.m. at 23.72 feet. Which would be the fourth highest the Red Lake River has crested since records began being kept in 1887.
ORIGINAL STORY
With the river exceeding 20 feet shortly after midnight, the City of Crookston opened their Emergency Operations Center overnight. City of Crookston Finance Director Angel Weasner said the most recent forecast has increased the crest to 26 feet. “At 12:47 a.m. we were at 20.31 feet, and the committee had made the decision to open at 20 feet, so we opened at that time,” said Weasner. “The National Weather Service has now predicted the crest to be at 26 feet so it’s up a little bit. At 10:30 a.m. our current river level is 22.03 feet.”
The river is currently down from its high-water mark of 23.11 feet at 7:45 a.m. Dike patrols are currently walking the dikes every three hours until further notice. Ward Command posts are not open as of yet.
A river crest of the projected 26 feet would be the 4th highest crest on record in Crookston since records began in 1887.
