Grayson County, Texas (KTEN) – Heavy rains fill more than Lake Texoma this week.
“This is very unusual. I mean, I usually come here and drive all the roads. Today, it’s really covered,” said Darrell Baldwin, a visitor to the Hagerman National Wildlife Shelter.
The water is now expanding into businesses just off the lake.
“I’ve seen it on the internet and have seen some of the photos. They’re not going to attract customers as long as the water is close to this high. It clearly affects their income and income,” Baldwin said.
The rise in floods crashing into businesses such as Island Bars in Pottsboro and Grill Lake Texama.
Owners of Island Bar and Grill in Pottsboro announced on Monday that the restaurant will be temporarily closed as water gets flooded and customers are unable to access it.
And just up the Sherman Road: Hagerman National Wildlife Reserve is also feeling heavy rain.
“So, at this point, all of our main roads are underwater, including wildlife drives, shelter roads, and parts of Haggerman Road. All hiking trails are closed. There is very little access at this point. The only thing open is the visitor centre.”
According to Kathy Whaley of Wildlife Refuge Manager, she hasn’t seen water rise that high since 2015, when floods took her to the visitor centre office.
“Last time, the water passing through spillway prevented it from entering this building, so we had about 10 feet of room and we reached within about 20 feet of the patio.
Depending on the amount of rain forecast, it may take several weeks to return to normal.
So far, water is expected to reach about 18 feet above normal lake levels by Thursday.
