WAGONER COUNTY, Okla — One of Oklahoma’s biggest fishing tournaments has been postponed after high water levels were deemed unsafe.
The Lucky 13 Fishing Tournament at Fort Gibson Lake has been postponed from July 26th to September 6th, after forecasts have predicted water levels to be nine feet above normal.
The Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce says while it’s not something they wanted to do, they want to prioritize safety.
Christin Warrior, the executive director of the chamber, said the water only seems to be getting higher.
WATCH: Lucky 13 fishing tournament postponed as water levels rise
“I came out yesterday to assess the water and it was already above the ramp that we use," she said. "Then coming out here again today, it’s definitely come up at least 2 feet.”
She said the high water levels are dangerous for anyone to be going out in, especially competitors.
"It’s just unsafe to have our fishermen out there," she said. “Having fishermen out there and not really knowing what’s underneath the high-risen water."
It seems like high water levels have been a concern in Oklahoma this summer.
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Taft Price is a hydrologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
He said because of water flowing from other bodies of water into the Fort Gibson Lake, it’s been harder for water levels to go down fully.
“All the lakes work together in unison and all the lakes end up flowing into the Arkansas River," he said.
Still, Price said with small amounts of rain, water levels will return to normal soon.
“With this dry period we’ve seen over the last four, five days, and over the last couple of weeks with diminishing rainfall, we’re actually starting to see some of our lakes starting to drop off," he said. "It’s probably gonna take a couple of weeks of limited rainfall to get them back to normal conditions.”
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