Firefighters Rescue Family, Check On Others After Heavy Rain Leads To Flooding In El Reno

Video from Bob Mills SkyNews 9 showed a man, woman and baby being rescued from their home in El Reno Tuesday.

Concerned family members called the sheriff’s department to check on the three. They made it safely to shore and but declined to talk to News 9.

Firefighters said they didn’t initially want to be rescued.

“They were wanting to wait it out and they had about four inches of water in their house and it had dropped down from about 10 inches. But we are expecting more runoff from the rivers that have come out of its banks, and we told them that it could come up anywhere from another half foot to a foot” said El Reno firefighter Slade Terry.

“It’s hard.” Terry added, “We passed I think we passed six or seven addresses that everyone wanted to shelter in place.”

Monica Guzman and her husband have been refurbishing a home on Banner Road for the past two years and had hoped to move in soon. They wish they could get down there to see how bad the damage is. 

“We were planning to move in the summer, but now I think it has to wait because we don’t know how it looks like. I mean, we haven’t been there,” said Guzman.

Guzman hopes the water recedes in the next couple of days. Until then, rescue crews will continue checking on those who refuse to leave. 

“We understand that,” said El Reno Fire Chief Kent Lagaly. “Those are their valuables. Those are their family pictures. Things like that. And what we want to make them understand is some things can’t be replaced, but most of it can. And what’s more important is you.”

El Reno does have a shelter set up for those who need a place to stay. It’s at Jenks Annex Building on North Country Club Road.