Kings County authorities have closed the Kings River and all parks alongside it to recreational use because of storms that have swollen Pine Flat Reservoir and the snowpack above it.
The county’s Office of Emergency Services declared a local emergency Thursday following a storm that brought significant rain to central San Joaquin Valley and snow to the southern Sierra.
Another storm system from the Pacific Ocean is expected to hit the Valley in full force by Saturday night.
Pine Flat Reservoir’s capacity as of midnight Thursday was 76%, which is actually 114% percent of how much it has held historically this time of year.
Kings County authorities said the closure encompassed all forms of boating, canoeing, kayaking, floating and swimming in their county.
There was no indication of when the closure might be lifted.
A year ago, campgrounds and recreational-vehicle parks along the Kings River reopened after rebounding from damaged caused by flooding from storms in 2017 that pushed the Sierra’s snowpack statewide to nearly 200% of normal, and swelled Pine Flat Reservoir to nearly 300% of capacity.
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