The Texas Hill Country, renowned for its rolling rivers and tranquil summer camps, was forever changed on July 4, 2025, when catastrophic flooding swept through the region. Among the hardest hit was Camp Mystic, a beloved Christian summer camp near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas. The disaster claimed at least 135 lives across the state—117 in Kerr County alone—and left families shattered, communities grieving, and lawmakers facing urgent questions about youth camp safety.
On August 20, 2025, the Texas Capitol in Austin became a place of both mourning and resolve. Parents who lost their daughters at Camp Mystic took their grief to the Senate Disaster Preparedness and Flooding committee, demanding answers and action. CiCi Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains the only Camp Mystic victim yet to be found, testified through tears. "Three generations of women in my family went to Camp Mystic," Steward told the committee, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News. "This year, it was finally Cile’s turn. She was 8 years old, going for the very first time. Her heart was full of excitement to join the tradition of her aunt and grandmother who are here today."
The deadly flooding followed an unprecedented deluge—over 12 inches of rain fell in the early hours of July 4, the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. The Guadalupe River rose a staggering 26 feet in about 45 minutes, cresting at 37.52 feet, an all-time high. The National Weather Service had only predicted 1 to 2 inches of rain, with isolated pockets possibly getting up to 7 inches. No one anticipated such a swift and deadly rise in the river.
At the time, more than 700 people were at Camp Mystic. As the waters surged, tragedy unfolded rapidly. All 14 campers and counselors in the riverside Bubble Inn perished. Among those lost were Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo, hailed as heroes by their loved ones for trying to save younger campers. The names of the 27 girls who died—now memorialized as "Heaven’s 27"—are remembered with bright green bows tied around trees across Texas, a nod to Camp Mystic’s colors.
The sense of betrayal among the families was palpable. "We are here today for two reasons, first to express our unwavering support for SB1—the Campaign for Camp Safety," Steward continued. "Texas camps should be properly equipped, trained and held accountable so that future generations of children can experience the joy of camp without being placed in preventable danger."
Senate Bill 1, also known as the Heavenly 27 Camp Safety Act, is at the heart of the families’ campaign. Authored by Republican Sen. Charles Perry, the bill would ban youth camp cabins from floodplains, revoke licenses for noncompliant camps, and require comprehensive emergency plans for all natural disasters—floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and more. These plans must be submitted to local emergency coordinators and the State Health Department for license renewal, and copies must be provided to parents and legal guardians. Camps would also be required to hold safety orientations for campers and annual training for staff and volunteers.
The legislation goes further, mandating physical safety improvements such as emergency rooftop ladders in cabins and illuminated evacuation routes at night. Crucially, after concerns that Camp Mystic did not receive timely weather alerts, SB1 requires camps to have at least two internet connections—fiber, Starlink, or weather radios—to receive real-time alerts. Even camps that obtain federal waivers to be exempt from floodplain regulations would still be required to comply with these state safety reforms.
The emotional testimony from grieving parents was both heartbreaking and galvanizing. Carrie Hanna, whose daughter Hadley died in the flood, said, "I promised her she would be safe and OK. I told her camp was the safest place she could be. I lied to her. She not only wasn’t safe, she died." Blake Bonner, father of Lila, called the tragedy "an act of pure complacency," adding, "Our daughters paid the ultimate price for their obedience to a plan that was destined to fail."
Ben Landry, father of Lainey, was blunt: "These children were put to sleep in a floodplain with no plan for a flood. This must be changed now, so this does not happen again. This is an event that was preventable and was caused by years of neglect, ego, and complacency—never again should these words be used to describe the children’s camps in Texas."
According to KXAN, Cici Steward echoed these sentiments, stating, "Obvious common sense safety measures were absent; protocols that should have been in place were ignored. As a result, my daughter was stolen from us. Cile’s life ended. Not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures."
Records revealed that 74 buildings, including Camp Mystic cabins, had been removed from FEMA maps before the floods. Most of these buildings sat in 100-year floodplains or floodways. Evacuations at Camp Mystic did not begin until between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., more than 45 minutes after the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. The official camp plan was to stay in place, a decision that proved fatal for many. Matthew Childress, father of counselor Chloe Childress, said, "She followed directions, the authorities, and that is what killed her."
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Republican from District 7, expressed outrage but also hope for change. "There’s 1,100 camps out there and many of them do it the right way. This camp was horrifically wrong. The instructions given to Chloe were horrifically wrong," he said. "This bill is going to pass. These camps are going to be safe and that's our commitment to you."
SB1 also faces some pushback from those wary of increased government regulation. However, Bettencourt emphasized that the bill is about prevention, not punishment: "The other camps, a lot of them did the right thing, and this bill is not to punish the camps that did something good, but to collect the best practices that we all do it right in the future."
After four hours of testimony, the Senate Disaster Preparedness and Flooding committee unanimously referred SB1 to the full Senate, with plans to present it during the state’s second special session beginning August 21, 2025. Sen. Perry assured families that lawmakers are working to pass the bill quickly, aiming to have safety reforms in place before the next camp season.
Meanwhile, the search continues for the last missing victims: Jeffrey Ramsey, Michael Phillips, and Cile Steward. Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management vowed, "We are not stopping the search for Cile."
For the families who lost so much, the passage of SB1 is more than a legislative victory—it’s a promise that their children’s lives will lead to lasting change. As Anne Lindsey Hunt, mother of Janie Hunt, stated, "We can’t bring our daughter back, but we can make her memory a shield for every child who will step onto a camp bus next summer."
With the wounds from July 4 still fresh, Texas stands at a crossroads, determined that the lessons written in heartbreak will shape a safer future for generations of campers to come.
