Associated PressAssociated Press

North Dakota National Guard soldiers are spending the weekend on cleanup duty, helping the communities of Belfield, Dickinson and Minot recover from an Oct. 5 storm that dumped more than 2 feet of snow in some areas.

"We were figuring anywhere from 15 to 20 weeks," Minot Assistant Public Works Director Merle Baisch said of the amount of time he expected the city would need to clean up from the storm.

The heavy, wet snow knocked out power and downed trees in a wide area from the southwest to the north central parts of the state.

Minot's Oak Park was closed for days because of the danger of falling tree limbs. Baisch estimated the tree piles at the city landfill were 400 feet long, about 45 feet wide and 14 feet high.

"There were two of them, and they were stacked solid," he said.

The Guard said members of the Minot-based 164th Engineer Battalion would spend the weekend working with city crews to haul debris from boulevards and from city drop-off points.

In Dickinson, the Guard said, members of the unit's Company C were assigned to remove fallen trees and debris from drainage ditches to prevent flooding next spring.

The unit also was assigned to remove dangerous broken tree branches that block drainage along the Heart River on city property in Belfield.

Members of the National Guard had been in the Dickinson area to help clear debris and search for stranded drivers immediately after the storm.

Lt. Col. Steve Jahner, the commander of the 164th, said the latest assignment would allow the soldiers to put in valuable training hours while helping the communities.

In Dickinson, the storm forced the Stark County Social Service agency to move in case the roof of its building collapsed under the wet, heavy snow. Employees had 10 minutes to gather up important things from the office and put them in five cars.

Director Larry Bernhardt said he and six supervisors were able to move four boxes of board minutes that dated from 1936, as well as personnel files, computer modems, phones and copiers. They wanted to make sure the agency could function.

"The weight of the snow created pressure on the roof and it made the whole roof sag," Bernhardt said. The office was closed for three days before ceiling tiles were replaced and employees were cleared to move back.