The unforgiving Red River slowly began to loosen its devastating grip on Grand Forks on Wednesday.

But the Red continued its relentless flow northward and continued to rise in the nearly-evacuated towns of Drayton and Pembina. The increase at Pembina especially was dramatic.

According to a National Weather Service spokesman, the river in Grand Forks fell by approximately 6 inches since its crest between Sunday and Monday.

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, the Red stood at 53.6 feet.

Unlike the northern valley, there was good news to the east of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, as the Red Lake River in Crookston, which flows into the Red in East Grand Forks, was on a steady decline.

The news to the north, however, was not encouraging.

‘‘We’re going absolutely crazy around here,’’ said Kathy Nelson, office deputy at Cavalier County Sheriff’s Department. ‘‘People are calling about water problems all over the place.’’

Water was building up on the Interstate 29 off-ramp in Pembina, but evacuees were traveling through it to get out of town anyway.

In a weird twist, Nelson said county commissioners gave permission to one farmer to fence in a portion of road across County 55 between North Dakota 18 and I-29.

Why? ‘‘It’s the only high ground available he can put his cattle on,’’ Nelson said.

The official crest of the river in Grand Forks won’t be known for a while, according to Wendy Pearson, National Weather Service hydrologist. ‘‘We don’t have an exact number, but we can figure it out by high-water marks later,’’ Pearson said. She estimated the crest at the 54-foot mark.

Estimating the crest has been guesswork for the service because the gauge in East Grand Forks malfunctioned Saturday.

A sophisticated measuring device was installed Tuesday in East Grand Forks by the U.S. Geological Service that allowed emergency management officials to accurately read river levels for the first time in four days.

The device, called a data collection platform, was installed near the gauge house that measured levels before the river’s massive show of force last weekend. An antenna hooked to the platform sends river information to a satellite and the satellite beams the information back to weather service officials. The device was flown to Grand Forks on Tuesday and installed.

Pearson provided the following river level readings and projected crests from Fargo to Pembina:

¤ Fargo: 37.5, down sixth-tenths of a foot since Tuesday.

¤ East Grand Forks: 53.6, down approximately six inches.

¤ Oslo: 38.1, holding steady. Pearson said the river was projected to crest Wednesday or today. The city is still dry because water is bypassing the city, she said.

¤ Drayton: 45.2, up two-tenths; crest of 48-49 feet today or Friday.

¤ Pembina: 53.3, up 1.1 feet; crest of 58-59 feet Sunday or Monday.

How fast the river will fall in Grand Forks won’t be determined until today, Pearson said.

At Crookston, the Red Lake River fell to 17.89 feet as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, a one-foot drop since Tuesday. The river, which crested at 28.30 on April 17, is on a steady decline.

No major flooding problems were reported Wednesday there, and emergency officials deactivated their operations center at midday. However, phones still were being staffed in case of emergencies.