Spring brings flooding, wildfires
Spring brings flooding, wildfires to Oklahoma

By Brian Sargent and Sheila Stogsdill

Published: March 21, 2008

While several areas of The Sooner State were worried about flooding, others worried about wildfires.

In other words, it was a typical first day of spring for Oklahoma.

Rivers continued to crest Thursday from torrential rainfall earlier in the week, but unseasonably warm temperatures on first day of spring, combined with gusty southerly and southwesterly winds, also created very high to extreme wildfire conditions, especially across parts of western Oklahoma.

A day earlier, the river crested at 24.73 feet at Watts and has since dropped more than 13 feet.

The recent rains were the third worst on record with record flooding occurring at Watts on July 25, 1960, at 26 feet and on May 10, 1960, at Tahlequah at 27.9 feet.

An aerial view of the Illinois River Basin on Wednesday showed flooding had affected roads, state campgrounds, homes and farm equipment, according to the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission.

Several structures were lost to floodwaters, the commission said.

The river's fast moving brown murky water had receded several feet by Thursday evening, allowing State Highway 10 near Tahlequah to reopen north of Hanging Rock Camp, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported.

Moderate flooding was also reported from the Poteau River in Le Flore County.

"We were impacted, but it certainly could have been a lot worse,” Tulsa-based National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sellers said.

Campgrounds along the Illinois River were flooded and water lapped at some homes.

Counties along and east of U.S. 75 were particularly hard hit.

Pam Baker, who owns Falcon Floats and Riverville Lodge along the river, packed up anything that could float away as the river rose.

"It's a lot of hurrying and hustling,” Baker said.

Mike Moore, senior ranger for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission said high water stranded some residents.

"There's a lot of people living along the river who are stuck, but they weren't going anywhere, anyway,” Moore said.

The rain seeped into homes, washed out some bridges and damaged or isolated numerous roads in other areas. Clear skies and warmer temperatures Thursday helped with the cleanup.

Baker, whose family has lived and operated businesses along the Illinois River since she was a child, said she hopes the early spring flood won't affect the busy summer season.

She and relatives moved canoes and picnic tables to higher ground and removed items from cabins at Riverville Lodge in hopes of salvaging as much as possible.

To the east in Sequoyah County, as many as nine homes in downtown Sallisaw flooded, officials said.

"They had about an inch of water flowing through them from a creek that overflowed,” Sequoyah County Emergency Management Director Chris Keathley said.

Several county roads were washed out, he said.

"The bad thing is, these were good roads that were in good shape,” Keathley said. "But you take 5 inches of rain in eight hours, … let's just say it's going to put a dent in the road budget.”

Contributing: Staff Writer Johnny Johnson and The Associated Press

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