Camp Mystic can reopen despite flooding victim lawsuit, Texas judge decides
Cile Steward and Camp Mystic
KERRVILLE, Texas - A judge has declined to close Camp Mystic after the family of one of the 27 campers and staffers killed in last summer's deadly Hill Country flooding sued to that end earlier this year.
The judge ordered that the camp has to preserve evidence from the floods, but the camp where the 8-year-old daughter of the plaintiffs died is still allowed to operate this summer.
Judge says Camp Mystic can stay open
The latest:
District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Wednesday ordered that Camp Mystic not alter or demolish the cabins where campers were housed during the floods, nor can they use the part of the camp closest to the Guadalupe River where those cabins were located, according to the Associated Press.
The request for a temporary injunction preventing the camp from reopening, however, was denied, the AP said.
Camp Mystic announced their plans to reopen in September 2025, less than three months after dozens of people died in the disaster.
Texas flooding: Missing Camp Mystic child's parents file suit to stop reopening
The parents of a still missing Camp Mystic camper are suing to stop the camp from reopening this summer.
Family sues to close Camp Mystic
The backstory:
The 108-page lawsuit, filed by 8-year-old Cecilia "Cile" Steward's family in Travis County, alleged that the camp never did anything to improve its flood vulnerability despite the money it made. The suit also claimed that the camp is prioritizing reopening over children's safety.
The lawsuit named many co-defendants, including Camp Mystic LLC and members of the Eastland family which owns and runs the camp.
Texas flooding: State officials face lawsuit from families over Camp Mystic licensing
A new lawsuit has been filed in connection with the deaths at Camp Mystic during the devastating flooding that hit Central Texas last July.
The suit says that despite "a century of warnings" about a catastrophic flood and regulations, standards and guidelines by numerous groups and authorities, the Eastlands built cabins directly in the flood path, ignored warnings, and "chose complacency over prevention."
In addition to requesting an injunction to keep Camp Mystic from reopening, the Stewards sought more than $1 million in damages.
Deadly Texas Hill Country flooding
Dig deeper:
In the early hours of July 4, heavy rainfall in Central Texas caused the Guadalupe River to rise far past its banks in an area known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley," particularly in the area of Kerr County, where Camp Mystic and other children's camps are located.
The floodwaters rose rapidly, washing out cabins, homes and other structures built near the river on or close to known flood plains. At least 135 people died in the disaster, 117 of which were in Kerr County. The search and rescue operations lasted for weeks afterward.
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FEMA removed parts of Camp Mystic from 100-year flood map after camp appeals, AP report
FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from its 100-year floodplain map for Kerr County, the AP reports.
In the aftermath, Texas residents began to question the safety of summer camps near the flood-prone sections of the Guadalupe. Many claims claim to light of camps being ill prepared for severe weather situations, as well as local and state emergency officials and warning systems being unfit for a catastrophe on that scale.
Several lawsuits have been filed against Camp Mystic, and new legislation was brought forth in special sessions of the state legislature to ensure better protections for campers in the event of natural disasters or other evacuation scenarios.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associate Press and previous FOX Local reporting.