ROGERS, Ark. — It’s going to be a busy week at Beaver Lake with the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, and park rangers are warning to be careful of debris left over from storms that blew through the area on May 26.
“Our campgrounds are going to be completely full,” Chief Park Ranger Landon Thurman of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said. “All of our campsites are already reserved, and our day use areas are usually full to capacity."
And while a crowded Beaver Lake is nothing new to park rangers like Thurman, there will be some changes at the lake this year.
“We had three campgrounds that got hit pretty hard with the storm,” Thurman said. “Prairie Creek and Horseshoe Bend campgrounds are still closed, and they will remain closed through the holiday.”
Thurman added that Rocky Branch was also heavily damaged from the Memorial Day weekend’s tornadoes that struck Benton County but has since been reopened. The Rocky Branch Marina, according to Thurman, still has severe damage.
While Prairie Creek and Horseshoe Bend Campgrounds remain closed, Thurman said the boat docks at those locations remain open. The remaining nine campgrounds at the lake remain open fully, according to Thurman.
Thurman said crews have been working to clear debris from Prairie Creek and Horseshoe bend and will continue to do so during the rest of the summer.
However, hazards still remain in sites near the lake.
“We have damaged facilities, we have trees that have fallen on top of picnic shelters and on top of restrooms, but then there's still a lot of trees that have fallen and they're still hung up in other trees, and if it's windy over the weekend that could potentially have a tree fall down, so there's a lot of hazards out there,” Thurman said.
While most of the damage occurred on land, Thurman said swimmers and boaters need to be on the lookout for the storm debris that may have collected in the lake.
“There may be broken trees that are still out there in the water, parts of broken docks,” Thurman said. “So you have to be looking out for that kind of stuff, and that's something that may be a little bit different this holiday than some of the previous holidays.”
Thurman said all park rangers will be out patrolling this week and added that he wants to make sure everyone is being safe while having fun.
"We want to make sure that we are wearing life jackets,” Thurman said. “If we have kids out there swimming, make sure there's an adult watching over them, and never swim alone. You want to have someone out there to help you in case you get in trouble.”
As of now, Thurman said there is no clear date as to when Prairie Creek or Horseshoe Bend will reopen.
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