HUNT, Texas – Six months after the deadly floods in the Hill Country, the director of Camp Mystic is showing one of the enhanced safety features being installed at the portion of the property reopening next year.
KSAT was invited to visit Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, which was not damaged during the July 4 floods. The camp is a half-mile away from Camp Mystic Guadalupe where 27 girls were swept away by floodwaters.
Britt Eastland, the director of Camp Mystic, lost his father, owner Dick Eastland, in the floods.
Britt talked to KSAT about how the last six months have gone for him.
“I just feel like the power of prayer is giving us in peace the power of the (Camp) Mystic spirit,” Eastland told KSAT. “The power of what summer camps, not just Mystic, but camps in our area do for young lives. It matters.”
Earlier this year, families of the 25 campers and two counselors pushed for more safety regulations at summer camps. State lawmakers passed new laws, including the banning of youth cabins in floodplains and requiring camps to have safety plans.
Britt Eastland said he is working with safety experts to come up with new plans and said evacuation paths have been built at the camp.
The property will also have several flood warning sirens, which will communicate with sirens along the Guadalupe River.
“It’s just one example that we’re hoping Mystic can show, and other camps can show that we’re not taking any chances, Eastland said. “There’s some things we saw as camp directors that needed to be done, that maybe we weren’t required to do. It’s just the right thing to do.”
Several families of the campers and counselors who died in the July 4 floods said they do not want Camp Mystic to reopen.
KSAT asked Eastland what he would say to parents who are nervous to send their child back to camp.
“I’d tell them, ‘It’s absolutely the right feeling to be having what happened,’” Eastland said. “It’s a family decision, and we ask them if they are considering to come to Camp Mystic to call us, to talk to us, so we can let them know the things we’re implementing this summer.”
More recent Hill Country Floods coverage on KSAT: