HENDRUM, MINN. - In the next day or so, Hendrum and three neighboring towns in the Red River Valley will be dry squares in a vast, shallow lake -- just the way they've planned it.

"We've got a flood plan in place this time. We've had way too much experience," said Randy Berggren, mayor of Hendrum, a town of 300 people that was overrun in the 1997 flood that devastated cities and farms the length of the valley and caused an estimated $2 billion in damages.

The flood plan, similar to those in other Norman County towns, is anchored in an earthen dike (now just a grassy mound) around the town, new pumps and access to emergency generators, all established with state and federal money since 1997.

Monday, under a bright sun, it also involved about 100 adult and kid volunteers filling up to 4,000 sandbags, which were being delivered to communities along Hwy. 75 by the Minnesota National Guard, which sent 135 troops to the area.

At the Hendrum Fire Hall, volunteers and city officials were in the third day of round-the-clock efforts at flood readiness coordination.

Upstream, at Fargo-Moorhead, long clay dikes in a few low areas were finished.

The flood crest at Fargo overnight is expected to be within 2 feet of the 1997 record. The two main bridges connecting the two cities are expected to remain open, although streets, parking ramps and parks near the river have been closed. In surrounding counties, many secondary roads and bridges also have been closed and access to some subdivisions is restricted.

"A number of folks still in their homes are essentially going to be there 'til the end of this situation," said Dave Rogness, emergency manager for Cass County in North Dakota.

Hendrum ready to close levee

About Wednesday, as Hendrum begins to get squeezed by overflow from the Red River to the west and its tributary, the Wild Rice River, on the east and north, officials will seal the gaps in the dike -- across Hwy. 75 and over the railroad tracks that parallel it. The highway, which will be covered with water anyway, will then be emphatically closed by a mound of clay.

Residents who haven't moved their cars outside the dike will be effectively walled in until the water recedes. Those who left their cars outside the dike will have to scramble over the dike into 3 feet of water and wade to where they hope they've parked in shallower water.

Hendrum Police Chief Mike Smart said the flood protection effort is expected to keep the city's water and sewer works functioning. And emergency generators should maintain power. In 1997, a storm had cut the city's power for 10 days before the floods hit; it was in the dark for three weeks altogether.

Norman County emergency management director Kevin Ruud said because tributaries are expected to crest at the same time as the Red, he's seen more sandbagging this year than ever. But Ada, which was surprised by flooding from three rivers in the area in 1997, has already seen the crest pass without many problems.

At Grand Forks, N.D., the inflowing Red Lake River crest pushed the level of the Red River to within half a foot of its expected crest early Thursday. The river is expected to remain about that high, rising slightly before falling Saturday. It will crest at about 7 feet below the 1997 level. Two of the three bridges between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, Minn., have been closed, but no other major problems have been reported.

Bill McAuliffe • 612- 673-7646