In Kerr County, some summer camps are reopening after the devastating July 4 flood

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CENTER POINT — After closing because of the deadly July 4 flood, a handful of summer camps near the Guadalupe River have reopened — including a camp for children and adults with disabilities that welcomed 89 campers 10 days after the flood.

The campers at Children’s Association for Maximum Potential, or Camp CAMP rode horses, created arts and crafts projects and explored outdoor areas, ecstatic to be back. More than 200 volunteers and staff members supervised the activities.

Among the campers anxious to return was Becky J., a 50-year-old camper from Dilley, who has come to Camp CAMP since the late 1980s (The camp did not share Becky’s last name due to its privacy policy). Becky said she had been excited to learn how to ride a horse, take archery lessons and to see the counselors and fellow campers again.

“I was kind of sad” when the camp had to shut down after the flood, she said. “But I knew it was for the best.”

Except for a riverside area about 90 feet downhill, where campers launched canoes, held picnics and fished, the 55-acre camp had not sustained major damage during the devastating July 4 flood along the Guadalupe River that claimed at least 107 lives in Kerr County alone — including 37 children.

Most of the children claimed by the flood were at another summer camp, Camp Mystic, nearly 30 miles upriver. So far, 27 campers and counselors have been confirmed dead from the camp.

“We don't want to minimize the losses that others have experienced,” said Brandon Briery, Camp CAMP’s chief operating officer, who added that the camp is the only one in the area tailored for people with severe disabilities. “We believe those campers need it.”

Kerr County, tucked into the Texas Hill Country, is one of the state’s most popular spots for summer camps. At least 16 camps that call the county home are located along the Guadalupe River, which winds through the county.

At least eight camps decided to reopen after the flood, The Texas Tribune confirmed from camp administrators and social media. Two of the camps said that their facilities are high enough above the river to be safe from flooding. If there’s another flood, they said, they’re confident their emergency plans would keep their campers and staff safe. Another camp in Kerr County said it was far enough from the Guadalupe River to avoid any damage and resume programming.

Briery said his camp’s pantry is stocked with enough food and supplies to serve campers for days. He said they bought additional backup generators that can also supply electricity if the power goes out.

“We have tried to think of everything,” Briery said.

Some camps close for the summer

On Facebook, other camps whose cabins were closer to the river have announced closures.

Vista Camps, which has hosted two separate summer camps for boys and girls ages 6 to 16 since 1921, announced the morning of July Fourth that their facilities had sustained “significant damage” in the flood, although no campers were present at the time. Vista added that they didn’t know whether they could resume camp for the rest of the summer.

Another, Camp La Junta, said on Facebook that the Guadalupe River “rose swiftly and swept through camp,” but all of the campers, counselors and staff evacuated safely. The boys-only camp in Hunt, founded in 1955, said it will reopen next summer.

“Our focus now is caring for those most affected, especially the families in our camp and Hunt communities, beginning the long road to rebuild, and doing everything possible to welcome boys back next summer,” Scott Fineske, the camp’s director, wrote on Facebook.

A third camp, Heart O' The Hills, which serves girls ages 6 to 16, announced on its website that the camp was "right in the path of the flood" and would be closed the rest of the summer. No campers were present on July 4, but the camp’s director and co-owner, Jane Ragsdale, died during the flood.

"The extent of damage to camp facilities is still being determined, but it is serious," the camp said on its website. "At the moment, we’re all struggling personally to deal with our loss but we will do our best to keep you informed in the days to come."

Volunteers help with flood cleanup

Just over a week after the floods, Camp CAMP readied its cabins, dining hall and medical facilities, thrilled to have campers back. More than 100 volunteers helped the campers settle into their cabins and run the week’s programs, which include sports and musical activities.

The camp, which can accommodate up to 120 campers overnight at a time, serves people with mild to severe disabilities and runs one-week sessions tailored to varying levels of disability. Every camper is on a buddy system, meaning they’re accompanied by a volunteer at all times.

Briery, the camp’s chief operating officer, said no campers and fewer than a dozen employees were on the property when the flood struck, and they didn’t realize the magnitude of the flood until much later.

Camp CAMP is 90 feet above the Guadalupe River. Briery said the camp doesn’t plan to use its riverfront property, where the camp kept canoes, kayaks and a swing set, anytime soon.

That area was covered in flood debris. The water dragged away the swing and tore through the area but spared a concrete table and a stone fireplace built by a camper in 2022. The camp did not lose the canoes and kayaks as they kept them in the premises uphill.

Cord Shiflet, a real estate magnate in Austin, put out a call for help to his 66,000 Facebook followers and arrived in Kerr County the day after the flood with around 250 volunteers, construction crews and equipment — by the fourth day the number of volunteers had grown to more than 1,100 volunteers.

When Camp CAMP requested the group’s help, Shiflet wrote on Facebook: “THIS is what we’ve been looking for — a truly amazing opportunity to help and make a very meaningful difference with a huge and immediate positive impact. We need to throw everything we’ve got at this.”

Four days before the camp was set to open, the area was swarming with volunteers driving in and out of the riverside area. Piles of debris towered over the volunteers, and they used a dump truck, excavators and other equipment to remove it.

A girl's camp reopens for high schoolers

Nearly 30 miles northwest, in Hunt, where the swelling river hit hardest, Camp Honey Creek for Girls has also partially resumed its programs.

In the early morning of July 4, the flood destroyed five cabins belonging to workers, but none of the cabins where the campers sleep, said Sandra Schmitt, the camp’s director of 24 years. The camp waited until Sunday to evacuate the girls on a school bus to the Hunt Independent School District, where parents picked them up. Schmitt said the only reason the camp decided to evacuate was that there was no power on the property.

The infirmary and dining hall were not damaged and electricity has been restored, but all of the camp’s waterfront equipment, including canoes and slides, was swept away.

The camp, which typically hosts 175 girls ages 6 to 17, invited back 42 high school girls for horseback riding, archery, rifle shooting, chorus, arts and crafts, and sports starting July 19 — but swimming in the river will be off the list for the rest of the summer. Schmitt said the parents were anxious for the girls to return to finish out the summer.

For the high school girls, “it's important for them to finish their last year at camp and do the things that they normally would,” Schmitt said.

“I think it's important to have them come back … it's a very healing recovery sort of time for them and for us,” she added.

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