Floodwaters Shut Down Main Roads To Kingfisher

High floodwaters have shut down all the main roads out of Kingfisher. You can go into town, but going East, West, or North of city limits is virtually impossible.

Kingfisher officials say fortunately, the water rose slowly over the weekend, so a lot of homeowners were able to evacuate on their own. But it has been a day of water rescues and re-routing for everyone coming through town.

Kingfisher Creek and Uncle John's Creek are overflowing after Oklahoma's record rainfall. So when life throws you water, Steven Storey threw out his fishing rod.

“Doing a little fishing, watching the water rise. Just having a good time. I hope it doesn't get any worse than this, but if it does, we're probably going to be in for a long haul,” said Storey, who's lived in Kingfisher for 16 years.

It's been a tough time getting through Kingfisher with flooded streets. Drivers can enter the city from the south, but as for leaving on Highway 81 or 33, those routes are washed out.

“It's just the water, and it's not going anywhere, and people thinking that they're going to get back into their homes, they're probably not going to be able to get in their tonight. So we've blocked everything off and have security patrols out in the area," said Kingfisher City Manager Dave Slezickey.

More than 100 businesses are impacted by the high water and many residents evacuated their homes.

Ronald Fankhauser has three relatives with homes nearly underwater, but he is the one who's stuck.

"I live eight miles away and I can't go home," Fankhauser said.

He lives in Dover, and the road he takes home is now blocked off.

"It's kind of helpless, but this isn't the first time we've been through this," Fankhauser said.

The Kingfisher flood of 2007 had waters so high it damaged multiple homes and businesses. Much of the city is in a flood plain, where there's now so much water with nowhere else to go.

"We're just going to ride it out, guess if I have to, I'll get a canoe and canoe back home," Fankhauser said.

The Red Cross has set up a shelter with food and bathrooms at First Baptist Church at 1340 S. 13th Street in Kingfisher.