WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. — The Whitehorn Cove Marina is a summer holiday favorite on Fort Gibson Lake but owners told 2 News Oklahoma its Fourth of July celebrations have to be scaled back because of recent storms.
"We're a long ways from where we want to be," marina co-owner Johnathan Webster said on July 1, less than a week after 2 News first checked in with the business after straight winds wrought extensive damage.
Emergency crews had to rescue 17 people stranded on detached docks in the midst of the storms.
- Previous coverage>>> 17 people rescued after flooding in Whitehorn Cove Marina
"Those two docks were right here where that dock is at," third-year owner Brian Holt said, pointing to floating docks still hundreds of yards from the marina, something Holt said had never happened before.
WATCH: July Fourth fireworks postponed for marina after extreme storm damage
The lake is also slowly receding from extremely high levels, altering plans for a long-awaited fireworks show, though rains had it even higher last July.
"Last year it was 24 feet above. Last year we had the same issue," Holt said. "String of bad luck. Two years in a row, and this year the storms just added to it."
The marina's parking lot for its July 3 fireworks show remains under more than ten feet of water as of July 1. Holt and Webster said that made the fireworks show unfeasible until levels are back to normal. In the meantime, they said repairs and renovations for a modernized cove to prevent future damage and postponements would total a half-million dollars. A GoFundMe for that goal has racked up $2,500 in its first few days.
"People would come in just to land their planes then come over and eat and have a good time and fly back out (in the past)," Webster said. "And overall, we wanna replace, you know, majority of it so it'll be that spot again for people to enjoy."
Volunteers and friends of the business have also helped in the past week to weld and reattach certain areas of the docks.
The owners said the restaurant and bar will stay open for July 3 and July 4 with live music on its outdoor patio. Boating is also back open, they said.
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