Bill Burke Park is closed. The City of Salina has closed the entryway for motor vehicles into the parking lot due to rising water on the Smoky Hill River.

According to Utilities Director Martha Tasker, the NOAA river forecast center is predicting the river to crest sometime Thursday at 23-feet and officials are concerned about access to the log pile and high water.

No word on how long the lot with be blocked off.

Tasker tells KSAL News that following a heavy rain event back in June the river was running at just over 3,000 cubic feet per second, compared to the current flow of over 5,000 cubic feet per second.

The impact of the cresting river on the existing log jam is simply unknown.

Photos by Chad Allen / Meridian Media