1 summer camp evacuates, others monitoring as life-threatening floods strike the Hill Country

Youth summer camps across South Central Texas and the Hill Country are responding to heavy rainfall that triggered life-threatening flash flooding across the region Thursday morning, including at least one camp that’s evacuated its campers from the area.

Many summer camps in the area have taken additional precautions this year after last July’s catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River killed at least 139 people — including 25 campers and two counselors — at Christian girls camp Camp Mystic. The fallout prompted lawmakers to approve new safety requirements and invest in expansive weather monitoring infrastructure.

Game wardens helped evacuate and clear out around 80 people from campgrounds, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.

Camp La Jita, a Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas overnight camp in Uvalde County located on the banks of the Sabinal River, evacuated their campers Tuesday afternoon when the flood warnings began, spokesperson Gia Calucci said. Campers were transported by school bus to a Girl Scouts facility in San Antonio, where parents picked up their children, according to their Facebook page. The decision was part of the camp’s updated flood plan developed following last year’s floods.

At least two people had died in the flooding as of Thursday afternoon.

Abbott said the brunt of the flooding is hitting areas downstream of Kerrville, while most of the summer camps are located upstream.

“We are following the campgrounds very carefully to make sure all the kids in those campgrounds are going to be safe,” Abbott said at a press conference Thursday evening.

He also said he was told that the reported death was not a camper.

Several camps have taken to Facebook to update families, including Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville, Ebert Ranch Camp in Harper, Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Leakey and Camp Eagle in Rocksprings. All have said their campers are safe and indoors.

His Hill Ranch Camp and Hermann Sons Life Camp, both located along the Guadalupe in Comfort, also posted Facebook updates confirming the safety of their campers. Both said they lost power but are equipped with water and food.

Camp CAMP, an overnight camp for children and adults with disabilities that sits along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, issued a popup message on their website stating that while travel to the area is not safe, everyone at the camp is safe due to its location on the ridge 80-feet above the river.

The camp is located in Center Point, where the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency warning for a “particularly dangerous situation” as heavy rainfall pushed the river to dangerous levels. The body of the person who died was recovered in the area, according to the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Campers and staff will remain “safely sheltered in in their cabins” according to their Emergency Action Plan, the statement said. A spokesperson told KERA that there is “no risk of flooding” on the property.

Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville and Camp Capers in Waring, which are both situated along the Guadalupe, separately confirmed to KERA that their campers are safe. Texas Lions Camp is continuing camp as usual because they are located “well above the river,” a representative said.

Laura Hodges, director of Kickapoo Kamp For Girls near Kerrville, said the camp is not in danger as cabins are on a hill along Turtle Creek, which flows into the Guadalupe. Still, each session of campers practice flash flooding drills, which involve meeting at a muster zone, accounting for each camper, and going up the hill in cabin groups. Kickapoo Kamp did not flood last year, she said.

“Everything is good here, it’s a little bit worse than last year, but not as far as the kids go,” she said.

At Camp Stewart for Boys in Hunt, staff are closely monitoring the weather, director Valarie Buihner said. The camp is located by the North Fork of the Guadalupe, which Buihner said “is not bad” as of Thursday morning. She said the camp’s safety precautions can be found on their website.

Camp Honey Creek For Girls, which sits along a creek that feeds into the Guadalupe in Hunt, said they are following their “normal flood (and) rain precautions,” which keep campers away from the creek in their cabins when there is lightning.

“We have plans, and then we’re following through with them, just like we always do,” said camp director Sandra Schmitt.

Dylan Duke is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan at dduke@kera.org.

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