Building Nearly Disappears as Pine Flat Lake Water Levels Rise

Pine Flat Lake levels may be so high that water has nearly submerged a nearby restroom building, but experts aren't overly concerned.

The lake is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains 35 miles east of Fresno, California. Its levels have been steadily rising as a heat wave grips the U.S. Southwest. High temperatures have caused snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains to melt quicker than normal, which is causing the lake's waters to rise quickly. A report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed that the lake was 98 percent full as of Friday.

The lake is so full that water is flowing over the spillway at Pine Flat Dam.

High heat has negatively impacted several bodies of water in the southwest—causing water to evaporate at a quicker rate from Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona. The heat has also impacted Lake Powell in Arizona and Utah. Lake Powell's levels have started to taper off and, at times, have decreased this month after steadily rising throughout the spring and summer.

However, the heat has the opposite effect at Pine Flat Lake. Instead of increasing the rate of evaporation, it is supplementing the water levels by increasing the snowpack melt.

A video published on Twitter by Sophia Lesseos and FOX26 on Thursday showed water levels nearly submerging a restroom building at the lake. The parking lot is also submerged.

Anna Brockman, who works at Pine Flat Marina, told FOX26 News that lake water levels fluctuate often. She said that the lake reaches capacity every three to four years.

Newsweek reached out to Pine Flat Marina by email for comment.

According to the FOX26 News report, water flows down the spillway at the dam once the lake is around 85 percent full. That level was reached on July 3, the first day this summer that the waters flowed down the spillway at Pine Flat Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that the lake is taking in 11,000 cubic feet of water per second and only releasing 8,000 cubic feet per second down the spillway.

However, officials don't expect the lake to exceed capacity this summer.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by email for comment.

Last year, Pine Flat Lake water levels told a different story. The levels were so low that 16 of the lake's 20 miles of open water were closed to boaters due to low water levels, according to a report by ABC 30. Specifically, as of Friday, the lake's levels were at 947 feet. This time last year, the lake was at 792 feet. In 2021, the water level was down to 772 feet.

The near-capacity levels are a welcome change of pace for many lakes in the southwest that have battled years' worth of drought. The drought's impacts were so severe that Lake Mead neared dead pool last summer. At dead pool, lake levels are too low for water to flow downstream.

However, a wet winter in California and above-average snowfall have benefitted many lakes in the region, filling them to or near capacity, such as Pine Flat Lake.