KERRVILLE, Texas – On Sunday morning, neighbors, first responders and volunteers heard flood warnings and alerts blasting on their phones as heavy rain started to fall in the Hill Country area.
Crews and volunteers were told to hold back from any debris removal, search and rescue efforts, and cleanup due to the storms.
"A decision was made early this morning,” said Fredericksburg Fire Chief Lynn Bizzell. “We knew weather was coming in, so that presents another challenge.”
For some crews like the nonprofit River Aid San Antonio, it was early and smooth.
“We know the minute we have a Flood Watch or development upstream. We got that word,” said River Aid San Antonio Executive Director Charles Blank. “We were able to hold people off from getting down to lower elevation, stayed safely 35 feet above and then finally got that full stop.”
Since the Fourth of July, Blank and his team have been waiting to come and help with efforts in the Hill Country, a specialty for an organization that focuses on cleaning up waterways in San Antonio.
“We’re seeing a lot of debris, a lot of homes ripped apart, a lot a lot of homes crashed into the banks in some circumstances,” he said. “Our day looked a lot of brush, a lot of wood, a lot of wooden chips being moved, probably tens of thousands of pounds.”
Bizzell said with all the mud and heavy equipment on the riverbank, “it’s been very dangerous.”
Still, first responders say the heavy rain will have both positive and negative effects on recovery efforts.
“Just the fact that that it’s going to possibly uncover more debris that we’re going to have to go through again, which is a good thing because it could possibly help us,” said Fredericksburg Fire Marshall Reagan Rapke.
Overall efforts have left crews like Blank and his team hopeful for the future.
“All indicators are pointing to a much more streamlined logistics system for next week, allocating resources and equipment in the right places at the right time,” he said.
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