Campgrounds At Lake Fort Gibson Partially Closed Due To Flooding

High water is forcing the Army Corps of Engineers to close some lakeside campsites at Lake Fort Gibson.

The water rose more than 10' between Tuesday and Friday and was expected to continue rising thru Saturday. Harold Lazear pulled out of Taylor Ferry South after water approached their camper and the campsite attendant told them the electricity was being shut off to the spot he had reserved.

"The water actually was about 3 feet from our camper and it came up four to five feet overnight, and I was watching it," said Lazear.

The rising water inundated some roads and make docks into islands. Fort Gibson is part of a flood control system, so it's designed to hold back water that would otherwise flood areas downstream. That process sometimes leaves recreation areas unusable after a big rain.

There are lots of campsites on higher ground, but all of them were booked for the July 4th weekend. With no place to move to, Joshua Douglas had to go home early.

"They just came knocking on the door this morning at 7:30 and said the water was coming up and they needed to shut our electricity off and we needed to go home," said Douglas.