LAKE EUFAULA, Okla. -- Campsites around Lake Eufaula are slowly reopening after the May flood devastated Oklahoma.
During the flood, Lake Eufaula was 12 feet above normal.
"At one point water was all the way up to the top of this rock, so you can see we’ve fallen back down, we’re still five feet above normal but it’s a good visual of how vertically high the lake was and it’s 800 miles of shoreline so that much water," said Carly Lynch, Natural Resource Specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That much water caused plenty of damage.
"Cleaning up that big debris line was one of the biggest issues of getting the park back open because there was so much debris from the lake," said Lynch.
At Brooken Cove campgrounds, there's still 25 sites closed because of damage.
"We had erosion under picnic table foundations, on the actual camp site, camp pad foundations, our fish cleaning stations, and barbecue grills," said Lynch.
Lynch says there are a handful of sites that will most likely remain closed until the end of the season because of erosion. But with maintenance crews constantly cleaning up, they're reopening sites along the lake on a daily basis.
"There were four sites of Porum Landing that opened back up today, then we opened all of Highway 9 east back up today," said Lynch.
After a 2015 flood, it cost $4.5 million to repair the campsites. The Army Corps of Engineers expects the 2019 flood to be less, but still in the millions.
Here is the latest update of Lake Eufaula campsites from the Army Corps of Engineers:
Belle Starr: Campsites: C6-C13, C17, C24, W13 are CLOSED. Boat Ramp is open.
Brooken Cove: park is now open however the main Gate is closed, but access through cemetery is open. Campsites: 6-21, 30-35, 37, 49, 50, 61, 62 still closed. Sites 36, 38-41 are open and have electric but no water. Boat ramp is open
Porum Landing: Campsite 8-13, 38-44 Closed. boat ramps are open
Gentry Creek: Park is now open. Campsite 29 and the primitive loop is closed. North Boat ramp is open.
Oak Ridge: all sites open, boat ramp closed
Highway 9 Landing: Hwy 9 North Campsite N22-N25, N31-N33 Closed. Boat Ramp Open; Hwy 9 South S1-S5, S8, S23-S25 Closed. Boat Ramp Open
Mill Creek: Campsite 1-6 Closed, Boat Ramp Closed
Elm Point: Sites 4-10, 13- 17 Closed
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