High water caused by heavy rain last week is raising safety concerns at North Texas lakes this Memorial Day weekend as people take the opportunity to get out on the water.
Lake Grapevine is flooded nearly 8 feet above normal and the city's fire chief urged people to be careful of benches and other structures hidden under high water.
Only three of the six life jacket trees at the lake were accessible Sunday because of safety concerns.
“If the lake were to come up more, this one would be impacted and the life jackets might have to be removed because of the proximity to water. I don’t want people to have to wade through the water just to get to the life jackets,” Grapevine fire Chief Darrell Brown said.
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But that didn't stop some families from finding a place to enjoy the weekend.
“We’re so familiar with this. This is nothing,” said Ted Brennan, who visited the lake with his two children Sunday.
He waded through the water to find a dry spot to fire up his grill. He said his family has seen highs and lows at the lake over the years, including last year during the pandemic.
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“When the pandemic started, we would swim next to those three trees over there. So we’re very familiar with what’s over here and the obstructions,” Brennan said.
As the sun came out of hiding, more families arrived to soak up the fun.
“It’s what got us through the pandemic. We’ve been doing this through March of last year, and we’ve pretty much come out almost every day. It’s been great having this to do and not be cooped up inside,” Brennan said.
Several boat ramps are also closed because of the flooding.
Click here to check Lake Grapevine's website before making the trip to the lake.
