Around 4 a.m. last July, Guill\u00e9n and Canales waded through floodwaters<\/a> rushing across the Blue Oak RV Park, banging on RV doors to wake sleeping campers before the Guadalupe swallowed the property. A family of four was trapped by the rising water on a small island midstream. John Burgess held one of his young boys as the water raged around his family.<\/p>\n “Throw me the baby,” Canales recalled shouting as he reached toward them. The Burgess family disappeared into the flood before he could help. They were later found dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n From higher ground, the couple watched helplessly as cabins broke loose from their foundations, as RVs were ripped from their parking spots \u2014 as cries for help echoed over the roar of the river. More than 130 lives were lost statewide in the July Fourth floods of 2025.<\/p>\n Lucio Vasquez<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n The Texas Newsroom<\/p>\n Floodwaters completely decimated the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville during the early morning hours of July 4, 2025. <\/p>\n The physical destruction was immediate, but the emotional toll would take much longer to surface. After months of rebuilding, Guill\u00e9n would eventually seek treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took a while, in my case, to realize that I needed some help,\u201d Guill\u00e9n said. “I have a great team of doctors. They have helped me this whole year to get through it.”<\/p>\n Along with the RV park, the flood also forced Guill\u00e9n and Canales from the home they had lived in beside the bar. They\u2019ve since relocated to Bandera, about 40 minutes away. Even there, the nearby Medina River rose nearly 16 feet<\/a> during this week’s flooding. Their new home, however, sits on higher ground, well away from the river.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s been a crazy year, it’s been a lot of ups and downs, but this year is a lot better because we didn’t lose as many people,\u201d Guill\u00e9n said of the most recent flood.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, Guill\u00e9n and her husband served food and drinks as they always have, while the Guadalupe rushed just beyond the patio, its swollen waters covering the midstream island that\u2019s normally visible. Looking toward the river today, they no longer see rows of RVs lining the bank. They see the community that was lost.<\/p>\n Long-term residents greeted each other every morning. People relaxed along the river as the smell of barbecue drifted through the campground. In the evenings, neighbors gathered outside their RVs while enjoying music from the outdoor stage at the bar. On weekends, families floated the Guadalupe before stopping in for food and drinks.<\/p>\n “It was absolutely beautiful,” she said.<\/p>\n Floodwaters flow through what used to be the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville on Thursday, July 16, 2026.<\/p>\n The couple doesn\u2019t plan to rebuild the RV park as it once was.<\/p>\n Instead, they’re transforming the riverfront into a space for day visitors, with plans for an amphitheater and a flea market. Future structures will be built with concrete and other materials that can better withstand flooding, and there will no longer be overnight guests staying near the river, Guill\u00e9n said.<\/p>\n “Now it’s flooding more often and more aggressive,” she said. “We need to realize what we have and build in a safe way…because it will come again.”<\/p>\n For a while, it seemed the recovery was finally gaining momentum.<\/p>\n Then the Guadalupe rose again.<\/p>\n “It was coming back,” Guill\u00e9n said. \u201cWe were very excited a couple months ago that for the first time we were able to cut the grass. But we got another flood.”<\/p>\n As recovery continues, so does the effort to prepare for the next flood. Along with a new network of gauges<\/a> that track rainfall and river conditions, flood sirens have been installed across the region.<\/p>\n Some of those sirens were donated and installed by River Sentry near the former RV park, separate from the state-funded warning system created under Senate Bill 3<\/a>, one of several flood-safety measures<\/a> approved by lawmakers after the catastrophe last year.<\/p>\n![\"Floodwaters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784348919_213_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Floodwaters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784348920_393_.jpeg\"\/)
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