Campground At Roosevelt Lake Temporarily Closed

By Chloe Jones
Published: Friday, April 19, 2019 - 11:00pm
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The spring rains may have been too much of a good thing. A popular camping area at Roosevelt Lake is closed until further notice because the lake level has risen.

At the Bermuda Flat Shoreline, there is usually an area known as the “bathtub ring.” It’s a flat barren area between the low watermark and the high watermark on the lake. The bathtub ring is usually where people park their vehicles and pitch their tents. Now that Roosevelt Lake  has filled to almost 75 percent capacity, campers have moved into the vegetation area where there is tall, dry grass.

Carrie Templin with the Tonto National Forest says that’s a potential fire hazard

“The way it's configured, there's only one way in one way out on the road, it would be very hard for fire engines and firefighters to get down while we're trying to get people out.”

Templin says the smallest spark is enough to start a wildfire, and with a few small fires in the forest already it’s just not worth the risk. She advises to go to other campgrounds on the lake that do not pose a fire risk, which can be found online or at the Visitors Center. The campground will reopen when the shoreline recedes or if the grass gains moisture.