Members of the agency’s Incident Management Assistance Team left Monday morning from the Coast Guard’s Air Station at McClellan Industrial Park in Sacramento. 

Lieutenant Commander Wes Hester says it’s not uncommon for the Guard to transport federal, state and local officials when emergencies happen.

“We have a unique capability here in Sacramento with our C-130 aircraft for airlift and if you add on to that the fact that we always have a crew standing by for any kind of response, then that makes us an ideal platform to get their initial folks on the ground and make a rapid assessment.” 

The National Weather Service says the Red River was about three feet above flood stage in Fargo, North Dakota and more water was on the way.