Locals Spring Into Action to Help in Flooded Hill Country

A team of Fayette County EMS personnel including EMS Director Josh Vandever deployed to the Hill Country to assist in rescue and recovery efforts following the devastating July 4 floods.

Vandever told the Record on Sunday that he would provide a report on their activities once demobilized, but he wasn’t sure when that would be.

An estimated 10 to 12 inches of rain fell on Kerr County just before sunrise on July 4. The intense storm flooded the region. The Guadalupe River in Kerrville had barely a trickle of water in it when the rain started around midnight. By 7 a.m. it rose above 34 feet.

At least 82 people had died in the floods statewide as of Monday morning, July 7. Kerr County was hardest hit with 40 adults and 28 children killed. The area around Kerrville is home to lots of summer camps, and many children are among the missing, including 10 children and an adult counselor from Camp Mystic.

“In all of this devastation, the way this community is pulling together is nothing short of inspiring,” Vandever said in a Facebook post Saturday evening. “Every street corner has someone holding a sign that says ‘free food’ or ‘free clothes’ or ‘need to talk?’. The work being done by the game wardens, state troopers, and Texas Task Force One members is treacherous and emotionally devastating, yet it continues. We find a lot to complain about in today’s world, and as tragic as things may be, you can always find God in things if you look hard enough. God Bless Texas.”

The same storm that hit Kerrville dumped up to a foot of rain in spots along the Colorado River basin above the Highland Lakes. Mason got nearly 19 inches of rain over the weekend. The lakes received some much-needed inflows. As of Sunday afternoon, Lake Buchanan rose to 78 percent of capacity, and Lake Travis up to 65 percent. As a result, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) conducted some dam releases along the river to manage the flow.

On Saturday, LCRA partially opened a floodgate at Tom Miller Dam in Austin. It also opened a floodgate at Lake Bastrop. The Colorado River in La Grange had been somewhat low before the storm. The gauge at the bridge on State Highway 71 in La Grange was at about 4.8 feet on Friday, July 4. By Monday morning, the river rose to above eight feet, although that’s well below the flood stage of 26 feet. The amount of water flowing in the river here quadrupled from 600 cubic feet per second (cfs) last week to 2,680 cfs Sunday afternoon.

The storm also brought rainfall here. La Grange got about 2.65 inches between Thursday and Sunday.