Senate Bill 3 will bring $1 million to 30 Texas counties impacted by the July 4 flood. Burnet County is in the early stages of discussing siren placement.
MARBLE FALLS, Texas — More than seven months after the devastating July 4 floods swept through Central Texas, a Burnet County man rescued by helicopter is sharing his story and his hope that new warning systems will prevent future tragedy.
As part of Senate Bill 3, Burnet County is among several Central Texas counties set to receive funding for flood warning sirens.
The catastrophic flooding washed out multiple Hill Country communities and claimed more than 130 lives across the region, including five in Burnet County. One person remains missing.
For Vietnam veteran Donny Russell of Marble Falls, the disaster left lasting scars.
“I’ve been scared in my life, but I’ve never been that scared because of water,” Russell said. “It was moving, it was really moving, and so that just scared the fool out of me. I said, ‘Man, I’m about to go.’”
Russell was inside his RV at Cedar Stays RV Park when the floodwaters surged around him. What followed was a dramatic rescue by the first responders.
“The helicopter lowered. One of the Coast Guard lowered him down and he knocked on my door. I threw my bags to him, jumped out, put me in a basket, took me up, took me over here to Faith Academy,” Russell recalled.
Now, he said he can laugh about the adrenaline-fueled moments, but at the time, he feared for his life.
Two months after the flood, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 3 into law. The legislation requires the Texas Water Development Board to assess all 30 counties declared disaster areas, including Burnet County, and determine where flood warning sirens should be installed.
“Each county got $1 million, and that $1 million includes the ability to put in sirens and all the different equipment that they would need,” said Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson.
Currently, Burnet County does not have any flood warning sirens in place.
“The water development board will identify the places where the sirens go. That’s what they’re going to do on March 3, as I understand it,” Wilson said.
He also mentioned how the board will collaborate with the community to ensure these sirens are installed in areas with larger populations.
County leaders say implementation is still in the early stages. There is no set date for when the systems will be installed, but Wilson said he is hopeful it will happen before the end of next year.
For residents like Russell, an early warning system could mean the difference between life and death.
“There were several trailers up there that had 8 to 10 feet of water, and if I had been able to be warned ahead of time, that’s life saving. We lost one person here [at Cedar Stays RV Park],” Russell said.
As Burnet County works with the TWDB to determine where sirens will be placed, Russell said the investment is a crucial step toward protecting vulnerable communities across the Texas Hill Country.
KVUE will continue tracking the implementation of Senate Bill 3 and the progress of flood warning systems in Central Texas.