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“Fast and Furious” is more than the title of the long-running movie franchise now playing to soldout crowds at 89er Theater.

It’s also the perfect description of the storm that dumped 3 inches of rain in and around Kingfisher in less than an hour Monday, causing flash flooding in all the usual places, as well as some neighborhoods that rarely see high water.

“It happened so fast that it caught everyone off guard,” Kingfisher Fire Chief Tony Stewart said.

Stewart had an ambulance headed to transport a patient to an Oklahoma City hospital Monday when the fire department started getting calls reporting stranded motorists and a request from Kingfisher Police Chief David Catron for all available city employees to help reroute traffic around suddenly flooded intersections.

Safely Rescued

The most dramatic was a water rescue caught on video from a News 9 helicopter, whose pilot was the first to spot and report a woman stranded in a pickup truck swept off Elks Road by a wash of flood water heading north from the Francis Addition.

“The woman works in town and was trying to get home to Watonga,” Stewart said. “She did the smart thing and stayed in her truck so we could get to her.”

A crew of fire department personnel put the woman in a life vest and then were able to walk her to safety before driving her back to town.

“We have two brand new guys on the fire department,” Stewart said Tuesday. “Yesterday was their first day. We broke them in pretty good.”

Another car was stranded in the underpass on S.H. 33, where pumps could not keep up with the pace of the rising water.

Fire Capt. Richard Butts swam in to make sure no one was trapped in the vehicle. Stewart said the driver had gotten out safely on his own before rescuers arrived.

All Hands on Deck

Although a number of cars were abandoned in and around Kingfisher after becoming stranded in rising waters, no injuries were reported and no other rescues were necessary, Stewart said.

Instead, he and his men, along with Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma Highway Patrol personnel, City-County Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis, other city employees from other departments and even City Manager Dave Slezickey and City Commissioner Wendell Prim helped reroute traffic around high water areas.

In addition to areas where high water is not uncommon in heavy rain – U.S. 81 to the north, S.H. 33 to the west and the underpass east of Main Street – the speed and volume of the downpour caused flash floods in unexpected places.

“Steve Loftis kept us informed that we would be getting a lot of rain, but we didn’t know it would be that much and that fast,” Kingfisher Police Chief David Catron said.

“Within 30 minutes, Main Street was completely flooded.”

South 81 was shut down when water swept across the road at Johnsons of Kingfisher and then a little farther north at the 800 block of South Main, where a four-by-four-foot drain couldn’t keep up and “was flowing across the highway like the highway wasn’t even there,” Stewart said.

From about 3:30-5 p.m., the entire stretch of U.S. 81 was closed all the way through town for a period of time, Catron said.

“We had water coming up on the 100 block of North Main about a foot and a half deep and cars driving through were pushing it up into businesses,” he said.

At one point, traffic was backed up for three to four miles on U.S. 81, as emergency personnel and city workers tried to reroute around the high water.

“Traffic was at a stand still for a little bit,” Catron said.

“We called in all our guys and then called City Hall and they got workers in from other departments to help us block off flooded roads.

“We really appreciated the assistance.”

Slezickey said flooding was reported at Seay and Main, Fay and 13th Street, Main and Broadway, Will Rogers and 19th Street and Francis Addition, as well as the west and east bottoms.

U.S. 81 north was cleared for traffic around 6 pm., West Broadway around 7 p.m. and the underpass east of downtown about 8:30 p.m.

No Injuries Reported

Slezickey said the amount of property damage from the rising water hasn’t been determined, but he was relieved that no injuries had been reported.

He said that in addition to managing traffic, city employees in all departments stayed busy through the storm.

“The electric department worked two outages, the street department was everywhere, clearing drains and moving debris out of the streets, the water department monitored the underpass pumps and the wastewater plant to handle the increased runoff,” he said.

“Chief Catron did an amazing job coordinating traffic control points to keep traffic flowing.

“I continue to be amazed and appreciative of the dedication of all our employees to work together in crisis situations to keep everyone safe.”

Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther reported some water damage at the new Criminal Justice Center, due to an isolated leak and a roof drainage issue.

Heavy Rainfall Totals

Loftis, official Kingfisher Weather Observer, reported 3.95 inches of rain as of 7 a.m. Tuesday from Monday’s downpour and 6.94 inches for the past four days at the National Weather Service Station in Kingfisher.

Recently harvested local wheat fields had standing pools of water following the deluge.

The heavy rains brought a halt to harvest in northern and eastern sections of the county where weather conditions had caused a later harvest than usual.

The Mesonet station on the Mueggenborg farm immediately west of Kingfisher recorded 5.38 inches of rain for a three-day period and 6.58 inches for the past seven days.

The rain was lighter east of Kingfisher with John Emmerich reporting four inches of rain overall during the rain system at his farm five miles east of Kingfisher.

Twila Adams reported 3.2 inches overall and only .6 inch Monday at her residence southeast of Kingfisher

Robin and Rick Johnston, northwest of Dover, reported a total of 7.2 inches falling as follows: Saturday morning 2.6 inches, Sunday morning 3.4 inches and Tuesday morning 1.2 inches.

District 2 County Commissioner Ray Alan Shimanek reported five inches of rain in the Hennessey area over the weekend.

Debbie Gaither at CHS Elevator in Hennessey said another inch was recorded at the elevator from Monday’s rain.

Harvest operations there have been brought to an indefinite halt.

CHS Elevator at Omega received more rain but a spokesperson said no one had gone out to check a rain gauge.

Harvest has been delayed for a “good, long while,” he said.

Cashion Grain and Feed Elevator Manager John Schaefer said between 3.5 and four inches had fallen at Cashion over the weekend and through Monday.

Mike and Donna Reid measured an even five inches at their residence southwest of Kingfisher since last Saturday.

Mesonet seven-day rainfall totals for selected areas of the state from the far northeast to the far southwest include: Watonga 5.7 inches, El Reno 3.74 inches, Marshall 5.0 inches, Fort Cobb 6.62 inches; Minco 7.4 inches; Perkins, 8.51 inches; Spencer, 8.95 inches; Guthrie 3.6 inches; Altus 4.57 inches, Tipton 5.62 inches;Miami 7.42 inches; Vinita 6.80 inches; Chickasha 6.56 inches and Tulsa 5.62 inches.

Please Turn Around

With more rain forecast through Friday, additional flash flooding is not out of the question.

“Our 100-year floods seem to come every two or three weeks sometimes,” Catron quipped.

The police chief reported that the biggest safety hazard Monday resulted from drivers who drove around barricades and even emergency vehicles with flashing lights in an attempt to ford flooded streets.

“It’s impossible to tell how deep the water may be or how fast it’s moving and what hazards may be below the surface,” Catron said.

Besides risking their own safety, careless motorists also create wakes, forcing more water into neighboring buildings and causing more damage, Catron said.

“I understand people wanting to get home, but please don’t drive into standing water,” he said. “We want you to get home safely.”

He also expressed frustration with “storm tourists,” those who were driving around for no other purpose but to view the rising flood water.