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Operations in Central North Dakota
Maj. Connie Nikiforoff, ND Wing April 7th 2009

30 March 2009

Things at the Bismarck Command Post have been a bit quieter this past Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, March 28, a couple of aircraft relocation sorties were flown and one reconnaissance sortie patrolling the Missouri River and Beaver Creek towards Linton, ND where substantial flooding has occurred this past week.

Here are some of the aerial images taken by the Bismarck Composite Squadron of those areas.

Sunday, March 29, brought unexpected and unwanted weather/flying conditions. The area in and around Bismarck had heavy fog making it impossible to fly the planned aerial imagery sorties. One IFR flight was completed to relocate an aircraft to Fargo (after maintenance) after conditions improved to IFR minimums.

Another aircraft relocation flight is planned to Dickinson, ND once logistics with pilots and airplanes are arranged.

At the present time, activities are curtailed due to yet another winter blizzard which is predicted to drop up to 17” of very wet snow in some areas of the state.

While these conditions are in force, CAP members are using this time to rest, attend to personal matters and gear up to continue the fight as needed and requested in the Fargo area as well as other parts of North Dakota.

Things are temporarily settled but as this new snow cover melts, meteorologists tell us a fast thaw will again put many areas in the state at risk for flooding due to river overflows as well as overland flooding.

We are keeping up our vigilance.

3 April 2009

Assignments in support of the current flooding mission are continuing to be assigned to the Bismarck Composite Squadron.

Almost daily our crews are flying to provide aerial images of rivers and tributaries in central North Dakota to supply up-to-the-minute intelligence.

On Wednesday, April 1, an air crew flew critical areas getting images of the status of ice jams north and south of Bismarck on the Missouri River. Changes in the Knife River near Stanton and Beaver Creek with its flooded area by Linton, were also of specific concern on this sortie.

Yesterday an aircraft was relocated from Minot to Grand Forks and a crew once again checked the ice jams north and south of Bismarck.

“Getting these images is very critical,” says Lt. Col. Kevin Iverson. “Based on photos provided by Civil Air Patrol, the State Water Commission has the National Guard drop sand and salt on the key areas of these ice jams. Our photos are the best intelligence being used right now.”

Here are images taken of a National Guard helicopter dropping sand/salt on the Missouri River’s ice jam just south of Bismarck near Ft. Lincoln on Monday afternoon. (Zoom in for a closer look.)



The Bismarck Composite Squadron continues to heed the call. Our assistance is vital to state entities as they endeavor to work to keep up safe and informed.

5 April, 2009

Assignments on Friday April 3rd brought a new challenge to our aerial imagery crew. The Army Corps of Engineers needed straight –down images of the James River in North Dakota, following its path southward towards the South Dakota border.

2d Lt Darryl Billick, the image specialist for that day, practiced his technique as the crew flew a straight line path eastward along Interstate I-94 from Bismarck to Jamestown.

Although taking straight-down images along the Interstate worked well, it soon became apparent using this technique to photograph a very winding river proved to be more difficult. Using a 20 to 40 degree angle proved to be highly successful in place of a straight-down attempt.

When the images were submitted to the Corps of Engineers, they were extremely pleased with the results.

As the weather warms up and run off begins, they are requesting daily flights to assess possible flooding.

To view images of this sortie you may go to http://tinyurl.com/JamesRiver-03APR09

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