1987: When the Guadalupe River turned deadly

History repeats itself, over and over again. Part of dealing with extreme weather is it's unpredictability - the best safeguard is mandatory evac zones. The fact that kids camps continue to be held here means someone needs to be held accountable.

1987: When the Guadalupe River turned deadly

On July 16 and 17, 1987, a flash flood created a wall of water along the Guadalupe River near Comfort

COMFORT, Texas – Nearly 40 years ago, a flash flood resulted in one of the worst tragedies to ever strike the Texas Hill Country. On the night of July 16, 1987, just outside Comfort, the kids at Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp were settling in for their final night of the retreat, while 30 miles up the Guadalupe River, at the other end of Kerr County, heavy rainfall would turn what had been a sleepy river into a wall of water.

While trying to evacuate the camp, a bus carrying 43 campers never made it across. Sadly, 10 of those on the bus drowned.

A report released by the National Weather Service in New Braunfels said, “The group was at exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.”

In the predawn hours, camp leaders made the decision it was time for the nearly 300 campers to leave. Kids from Seagoville Baptist Church in Balch Springs, near Dallas, had spent the week at the camp.

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