WASHINGTON – On January 26, 2024, Governor Doug Burgum submitted a request for a presidential major disaster declaration due to damages caused by a severe winter ice storm that occurred across North Dakota from December 25, 2023 to December 27, 2023. The ice storm, which affected 13 counties, destroyed over 2,000 electrical poles and left more than 20,000 North Dakota residents without power for multiple days.
The affected counties include: Barnes, Cass, Dickey, Grant, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, and Traill. While the counties of Burleigh, Grand Forks, Griggs, Kidder, and Wells were also affected by the ice storm, the damages did not exceed the required per capita thresholds as indicated by the governor.
U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and U.S. Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) sent a letter to President Biden in support of North Dakota’s presidential major disaster declaration request.
“Preliminary Damage Assessments indicate more than $11.5 million in expected damages,” the delegation wrote. “North Dakota continues to recover from the late December ice storm and is therefore requesting a major disaster declaration for 13 counties. […] We support the State’s request and urge you to approve it as soon as possible so the necessary Federal resources can be made available to North Dakotans. Thank you for your prompt attention to our request, and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can provide any additional information.”
Click here for the letter.