HOUSTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) – Twenty-seven people died in flooding at Camp Mystic in the Hill Country last summer. Now, with camp season weeks away, the state is demanding every camp prove it’s ready. So far, only nine have cleared the bar. One of them is in East Texas.
On July 4, 2025, an isolated rainstorm sent floodwaters rushing down the Guadalupe River in Central Texas. Fast-rising waters overtook two cabins at Camp Mystic, killing 25 young campers and two teenage counselors.
Camp Mystic’s director later testified that she saw the floodwaters rushing but had no way to warn campers.
“I knew I couldn’t get a hold of them,” Mary Eastland, Camp Mystic director, said. “There was nothing to try. I didn’t have any means to get a hold of them.”
New laws require emergency plans, training and communication systems
In response, in 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott signed three new laws at the Governor’s Mansion, applying new safety standards to both overnight and day camps across the state.
Senate Bill 1, the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act, prohibits DSHS from licensing youth camps with cabins in FEMA-designated floodplains. The law requires annual emergency training and planning, creates an online registry of licensed youth camps and extends safety standards to campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks.
House Bill 1, the Youth CAMPER Act, requires youth camps to adopt and annually update emergency plans. The law requires staff training and camper orientation. Camps must notify parents of floodplain risks with signed acknowledgment and share emergency plans with local emergency services. DSHS is authorized to enforce compliance through inspections, complaint investigations and license suspension or denial.
Senate Bill 3 creates a grant program at the Office of the Governor to offer financial support to cities, counties and other government entities for the installation of early-warning sirens in areas prone to flash flooding.
“As camper parents, Cecilia and I know the powerful role that camps can play in the lives of our children,” Abbott said at the signing. “Every child who goes to camp should come home to their families, and no parent should ever have to outlive their child or endure this kind of loss.”
Fiber optic requirement creates cost barrier for camps
One of the most significant new requirements is fiber optic internet, mandated to ensure reliable communication in remote areas with spotty cell service.
But fiber line is not available in all areas, and the cost to bring it in can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, leaving hundreds of camps scrambling.
Hans Meinardus, executive director of Frontier Camp in Houston County, said the cost barrier is real.
“For a lot of camps, fiber optic is not an option,” Meinardus said. “For us, last March, Spectrum showed up at our back gate and said, ‘Hey, do you want fiber internet?’ And we were like, ‘Yes.’ The quotes we were getting before that were up in the tens of thousands of dollars.”
Frontier Camp was fortunate. Most camps are not.
Hundreds of camps face delays, possible shutdown
Camps that cannot meet the new requirements face being prohibited from operating.
As of May 1, more than 300 Texas camps have applied for a license. Only nine have been approved. Many face delays in state inspections. Twenty-six camp licenses will expire over the summer.
Camps with expired licenses, or those failing to renew, are prohibited from operating under the new Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.
Frontier Camp among nine approved statewide
Frontier Camp in Houston County is one of only nine camps in Texas to clear the new requirements.
Executive Director Hans Meinardus said they were already ahead of the curve before the tragedy at Camp Mystic and before Abbott signed the new laws.
Meinardus said the camp did not need a major overhaul but has since codified its emergency action plan to meet new transparency requirements for parents.
Along with fiber, Frontier Camp added an Emergency Public Address System and pathway lighting throughout the camp.
“We’ve put in an emergency broadcast or public address system, an ePAS system that we didn’t have before,” Meinardus said.
The camp is expecting 2,000 campers this summer.
How Frontier Camp responds to emergencies
Any camp staff member who identifies an emergency must immediately notify the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
The Incident Commander, typically the executive director or assistant director, is responsible for all aspects of emergency response and authorizes activation of the Emergency Public Address System.
The program director, serving as the primary EPASS operator, broadcasts emergency announcements when directed by the Incident Commander.
An official flash flood warning issued by the National Weather Service for the camp area triggers emergency protocols.
Heavy rain or expected rising water levels assessed by the Incident Commander also trigger protocols.
If the lake authority closes the lake due to levels rising more than 2 feet, boating and shoreline recreation are stopped immediately.
Campers in the main camp area assemble at the flagpole for outdoor assembly or Standley Chapel for indoor shelter.
Campers in the Fossil Creek area assemble at the athletic field or gym for outdoor assembly or the Quarry first floor for indoor shelter.
Staff communicate via handheld VHF radios and the new EPASS system. Emergency path lighting guides campers to designated muster zones.
During an intensive all-staff training week, Frontier Camp practices fire drills, emergency accountability, chain of command protocols during a crisis, driver training and activity-specific safety certifications.
“Accountability in an emergency situation – how you account for all your campers, the chain of command, how that all works,” Meinardus said.
The camp’s count-off accountability practice has been in use since the early 1980s.
“We establish clear expectations, we communicate those, and then we hold everyone accountable to a high standard,” Meinardus said.
A ministry built on trust
Frontier Camp, a nonprofit Christian organization, has hosted East Texas campers since its founding in 1969.
Over a period of 10 weeks, nearly 2,000 campers participate in the program, which includes activities such as archery and boating.
The facility also operates year-round as a retreat center for church groups and Christian schools.
“We have a ministry that asks moms to give us their kids for a week and that’s a trust reposed that we do not take lightly,” Meinardus said. “It is a huge responsibility. We want to build the culture so that a parent walking into our camp can feel confident that their child will be taken care of, just like they would take care of their child, while they’re in our care.”
Under new regulations, parents also have access to the camp’s emergency plans and protocols.
“Now, do we promise a pristine environment for our parents? No, because we have kids,” Meinardus said. “So, what we do is we say that we hire well, we train our staff well, we supervise our staff well, and we pray. And at the end of the day, this is the Lord’s ministry.”
To see if your child’s summer camp is licensed, click here.
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