News

Three weeks ago, the day began early – for first responders, for elected officials and for residents in low lying areas from Wimberley to Martindale.

A Blanco River flood the likes of which had not been seen in 86 years was coming, and while thousands of people were warned early enough to get out of its path safely, it developed too soon for some.

That included members of the McComb, Carey and Charba families, up from Corpus Christi to spend the holiday weekend in a Wimberley vacation home along the Blanco River. 

The force of the wall of water estimated at 40 feet slammed into the home, ripped it from its foundation and send it down the raging river until it hit a bridge and broke apart.

During the first few hours of the flood, people and homes were washed away. The Ranch Road 12 Bridge was covered with 200-year-old trees and was impassible. The First Baptist Church and Cypress Creek Churches, each on their side of the river, became beacons of hope in an otherwise frantic and desperate situation.

In the initial hours, the First Baptist Church became the headquarters for the rescuers and searchers of the McComb family.

According to Senior Pastor Wiatt Warren, McComb family members came to the church and asked for help.

 “What do you need?” was the question, and the church and facilities were opened up to them. 

“All we did was provide space to them…and help run their search. It was pretty simple,”  Warren said.

The message was clear and reassuring; the Blanco River is battered, but it is not broken.

“The river is fine, it will recover itself, if we let it and help it,” Natural Resources Specialist Steve Nelle told a large river bank workshop audience last Friday at the Wimberley Community Center. 

Along with the great human tragedy and property loss of the Memorial weekend flood, the familiar beauty of the Blanco River suffered a viscous blow, particularly in the loss of shore line, foliage and hundreds of the majestic bald cypress trees that long graced and shaded its banks.

Ahead of the beginning of budgetary planning for the next fiscal year, two Hays County residents asked commissioners on Tuesday to reconsider a controversial deal with a private water company that the court adopted in 2013 and amended last year.

The deal, with Forestar, calls for the county to pay for reserved water. It originally called for the county to pay $1 million a year to reserve 45,000 acre feet of water; however after the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District would only grant Forestar 12,000 acre feet per year the deal was reworked so that in 2014, the county paid $500,000.

A lawsuit involving Forestar and the conservation district is now working its way through the legal process.

The first to address the issue during the public comment portion of the commissioners court’s meeting was David Crowley.

Not only did the flood wash away homes, people and pets, but it also left a lot of dirty laundry – tons of it.  Victims were gathering their dirty, smelling clothes, bedding and precious heirloom quilts with no way to get them clean or so they thought. 

Many in the Dripping Springs and Driftwood area saw a need and jumped at the chance to help the flood victims. Using social media, mainly Facebook, Lorrie Broadnax and Deb Hempel-Medina got in touch with one another decided to come up with a plan to somehow launder victims’ dirty clothes. Kristen Johnson and Jennifer Reyes jumped on the laundry wagon and the plan was set in motion. 

The support that the Wimberley community has received has been outstanding. People familiar with Wimberley and those that are complete strangers have sent goodwill, supplies and donations to help area victims and rebuild the area after the devastating Blanco River floods.

One local radio station decided to broadcast live with live music performances by area artists in order to raise funds. KDRP, which broadcasts from Austin (101.1 and 107.1 FM), (103.1 FM) Dripping Springs, (99.1 FM) Fredericksburg and (88.9 FM) Johnson City with the help of Cypress Creek Café held a fundraiser.  From 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. they had local organizations and music live and broadcasted.

Wimberley suffered an historic flood event over the Memorial Day weekend. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to all who suffered in this event, especially to the families of those who lost loved ones. Lives, homes, and possessions were lost but not our sense of community and neighbors helping neighbors.  We have gained a new resilience in the face of adversity.

As the flow of events has slowed over the past few days I have been able to reflect on what I have seen.

It’s not just a hardware store.

Wimberley found that out when Ace Hardware burned down around two years ago. The last few weeks have proven it beyond doubt.

Ace Hardware owners Tad and Christy Degenhart slept through the night as the Blanco River flooded Wimberley. The next morning, they woke up to text messages asking if they were ok. They turned on the news and saw the devastation that had hit Wimberley. At 5:30 a.m., hours ahead of Ace’s normal Sunday opening hours, they headed to the store with their family.

“We knew people would need our stuff at Ace,” Christy Degenhart said. “There were people waiting here at 6 a.m.”

Wimberley has gotten used to doing the “dirty work” over the last few weeks as the town is put back together piece by piece. It’s not always an enjoyable task to sweat through chain sawing downed trees, ripping out tile or tossing out every item in a flooded home – unless you are part of Team Rubicon.

“We don’t take it easy out there,” Bobbi Snethen, communications with Team Rubicon, said. “I know it feels like it’s a 100 degrees, but we want to work.  We like getting dirty. It’s fun for us, and it’s an opportunity to serve.”

Team Rubicon is comprised largely of veterans and first responders who head out to disasters to help. 

On Thursday night, June 2, at the Wimberley Community Center, the first of a series of meetings was held concerning the flood’s victims and how to obtain help. City, county, state and FEMA representatives were on hand to answer questions and offer assistance. More meetings will take place on a weekly then monthly basis.

Also there were representatives from Team Rubicon which consists of veterans and first responders to emergencies, and AmeriCorp which offers help through grants on a national and state level. Both groups are supplying volunteers to help with disaster relief.