On Sept. 5, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas Senate Bill 1, also known as the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act. This was one of three acts signed into legislation to increase safety measures and emergency procedures for summer camps across Texas. These were proposed following the tragedy of the July 4 Guadalupe River floods, where 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic for Girls were killed. 

Along with the 27 campers and counselors, Mystic lost their long-time director, Dick Eastland. His loss was felt heavily as he died attempting to save campers from the first-year cabins. 

Mystic notably supported SB 1, releasing a statement saying they “join the families in supporting legislation that will make camps and communities along the Guadalupe River safer, especially the creation of detection and warning systems that would have saved lives on July 4…Whatever is included in the final measure passed by the Legislature, Camp Mystic will go above and beyond to support the safety and well-being of every camper and counselor” and signed by the Eastland family.

While Camp Mystic was the only camp to release a statement in support, three influential camps – Camp Stewart, Camp Waldemar, and the Vista Camps – wrote a letter to the Legislature, concerned that the costs of remodels and adherence to the new guidelines would force the camps in Kerr County to close.

But the real issue comes to the surface when looking back at flooding history in the area. This is, by far, not the first tragedy to come from the Guadalupe River’s flooding. In 1987, a bus full of Camp Mystic campers escaping the flooding was taken down by a wall of water 25 miles from the camp. Ten campers died and 33 others were injured. 

After the 1987 incident, little was done in the way of lawmaking. The Legislature met one week later, and nothing was added in relation to flooding. According to members of the Legislature, it was a local issue. Loans were offered but because Kerr County was so small, there was no way for the county to have a steady enough revenue to sustain them. 

Emergency alerts along the river were introduced, but there were no sirens included, giving no way to truly alert people ahead of flash floods.

Blaming camps for a natural disaster that, yes could’ve been prevented – by lawmakers – does nothing but make things worse. From experience, there are few things that the Camp Mystic directors, including the late Dick Eastland, cared about more than they cared about their campers. While there could’ve been more done by the camp in terms of communication to counselors, there is very little that could’ve been done in any situation where there was no warning. Furthermore, this could’ve been prevented all together if government officials listened to locals in Kerrville even once in the last 30 years. 

“Every child who goes to camp should come home to their families,” said Abbott as he signed the legislation into law. 

He’s right, and if he had acted faster, this bill wouldn’t need to be called the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act. Because the lives of 27 campers and counselors, along with so many others along the banks of the Guadalupe River, could’ve been saved. 

“On the banks of the Guadalupe River, it’s the camp of my dreams.”

“Camp on the Guad”, from Camp Mystic’s songbook