Flooding Forces Cancellations

Monday, July 2nd 2007, 2:19 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Flood conditions have forced the virtual closure of several Oklahoma lakes that traditionally are popular destination for Fourth of July visitors. Lake Texoma, one of the nation's busiest lakes with an estimated 6 million visitors a year, essentially is closed and the water level continues to rise.

Ross Adkins, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Oklahoma spokesman, says persistent rainfall has caused the agency to perform a ``juggling act'' -- trying to prevent flooding at lakes while trying to stop the same at rivers both upstream and downstream.

The situation is similar at Keystone Lake and Kaw Lake in northern Oklahoma. Keystone lake manager Allen Ryan says the lake was 27 feet above normal and still rising yesterday,

Keystone is expected to crest later this week, but like several other lakes, that depends on how much more rain falls.

In eastern Oklahoma, 60% of Lake Eufaula's 460 campground sites with electrical hookups were closed and many are under water.

This is yearâ€™s July 4th holiday is on Wednesday and with the recent rainy weather, many are wondering what activities are still on and which events have been canceled or postponed.

KOTV.com has compiled a list of events on its community web page. To check out the list, click here.

And KOTV.com has created a special section called The Storm Zone. You can find information on the flooding including lake and river levels. The latest video and pictures are there, as well as state highway closings.

To find out which county roads are closed, you should contact your local county highway department office.