Monday storm puts damper on this weekend's Oktoberfest celebrations in Fountain Hills

Monday storm puts damper on this weekend’s Oktoberfest celebrations

With all of the rain and mud this week in the Valley, it is causing organizers of this weekend's festivities in Fountain Hills to make some changes. FOX 10's Stephanie Olmo reports.

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. - With all of the rain and mud this week in the Valley, it is putting a damper on this weekend's festivities in Fountain Hills.

"Three months of planning had to be wiped out within about 24 hours," said Christine Colley, President of Fountain Hills Events Inc.

Fountain Hills' Oktoberfest is one of the biggest events the city puts together, but for 2019, the weather was not in their favor.

"We woke up with terrible rain on Monday morning," said Colley.

Colley shared a photo she took on Monday, showing the space where the event typically takes place being turned into a lake. Although the water has receded, the ground remains saturated.

"We get a lot of equipment here, we had to make a decision to determine if we are going to go forward to take the risk, or are we going to suffer our minimal cost now.

Colley decided to be safe and cancel the event, but not all is lost. A couple of restaurants in the area have stepped in to help.

"I knew that a lot of people will be very disappointed, so I volunteered to host it here for the first night," said Merita Kraya, owner of Euro Pizza.