Officials at Fargo's Sandbag Central said this morning they're on pace to keep up with their goal of filling 100,000 sandbags a day - but that all depends on the volunteer effort.
The aid of businesses and students from area schools has been a big boost to output at Sandbag Central so far this week, with about 393,000 bags filled by the end of Thursday.
However, there's still a huge need for help in the evening hours.
Jesse Schmidt, public information officer, said Sandbag Central seems to empty out at 3 p.m. each day, but volunteers are still needed until 8 p.m.
Schmidt added that he's especially concerned about turnout on Saturday, since area businesses are only signed up to help fill sandbags during the week.
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"We're completely relying on the individual volunteers" on Saturday, he said.
At peak capacity, volunteers can fill as many as 15,000 sandbags an hour.
People interested in volunteering are encouraged to call (701) 476-4000 or log on to volunteerstatus.cityoffargo.com to see if help is needed.
Fargo officials want 3 million sandbags filled within the next few weeks to use in the upcoming flood fight.
That amount of sandbags is needed to build flood defenses to protect against a river level of 42 feet.
For more on this story, read Saturday's Forum.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Kristen Daum at (701) 241-5541
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