BISMARCK(AP) -- Officials say an ice jam no longer appears to be a threat south of Bismarck, where explosives were used last week to try to break it up.
Assistant State Water Commission engineer Todd Sando said Friday the ice jam has opened up and water is flowing through it. He said temperatures have warmed up and the Missouri River has continued dropping over the past week in Bismarck.
"It's finally flowing, so we feel a huge sigh of relief," Sando said.
Rock salt and two rounds of explosives were used last week to break up sheets of ice that were helping to form a dam, backing up water into parts of Bismarck.
Sando said an ice jam north of the city, in an area known as Double Ditch, broke up a couple of days ago.
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"We've got more open water now, so things are looking a lot better," he said.
Burleigh County's emergency manager, Mary Senger, said officials have been watching Apple Creek, which flows into the Missouri, to check for ice jams.
"The temperatures have been good for us so far," she said.
"W do have some pumping still going on in the Fox Island area (in south Bismarck)," Senger said. "We have four pumps pumping to make sure roads stay accessible,"
Senger also said Federal Emergency Management Agency teams have been doing a preliminary assessment of flood damage in Bismarck and Burleigh County.
