NC camp leader reacts to TX flooding that killed more than 2 dozen campers, counselors

FLAT ROCK, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Hundreds of camps in North Carolina are welcoming children for the summer.

But all eyes are on central Texas, where catastrophic flooding killed dozens of campers and counselors over the holiday weekend.

Right now, it’s the peak time for Carolina kids and teens to head to the mountains and spend their time off at various camps. This year, things feel a little different for some camp leaders, who are excited to have their grounds filled with people, while they’re also mourning the losses of campers and counselors in Texas.

“We know what a wonderful time camp is for thousands of young people around the country and when parents drop off their child off at camp and they’re expecting to get that child back in the same shape and for it not to happen, it’s just heartbreaking in so many ways,” said Chip Sherer, president of Bonclarken Conference Center.

It’s hard for Sherer to wrap his head around this tragedy.

“We do take camper safety very seriously and we want to keep our young people safe as we possibly can and when something tragic like this happens, it’s just a reminder of our duty of care that we have for all of our campers,” he said.

He’s hosting hundreds of campers in Flat Rock this week, days after flood waters washed away an all-girls camp along the Guadalupe River in Texas, killing at least 27 campers and counselors. Search and rescue efforts are underway to find people missing from Camp Mystic.

The images coming out of Hunt, Texas, are heartbreaking. Some are noting the similarities between this disaster and the flooding in western North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene.

“It was somewhat unexpected, even though warnings were given, we just didn’t expect it to happen,” said Sherer. “Similar to what happened in Texas, people were around and it came up very quickly, similar to what happened here in Chimney Rock and other places. And it even happened here at Bon Clarken.”

Queen City News Crews visited the Bonclarken Conference Center in the storm’s aftermath to see the damage done. Thankfully, there weren’t many people there when Helene hit. But now that campers are back, there’s a renewed focus on keeping them safe.

“We train our counselors in so many different areas to deal with unexpected things and when they happen, how do they deal with this,” said Sherer. “We certainly will have that reminder with our counselors this summer as they’re coming in and getting prepared for camp. Have that same confidence in them that you had before this happened and send your child off to camp with the confidence they’re going to have a wonderful time just like you always would.”

Some North Carolina organizations are sending people to central Texas to help with relief efforts. Samaritan’s Purse has crews on the ground stocked with supplies and equipment.