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Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly reported on Monday that there are still two people missing following deadly Fourth of July flooding.
More than 100 people were killed by the flooding along the Guadalupe River, which sent debris-clogged waters sweeping through campgrounds, parks, and low-lying homes.
Kelly also announced during the county commissioners' meeting that he had a lifted the burn ban for unaffected areas, effective Monday: "I've lifted the burn ban on a limited basis. If you call into the sheriff's office and the dispatcher, there's a record kept of that, and that is your formal permit to burn. If you don't do it, you don't have a permit ... you will be fined."
The fine is $500. Burn piles must not be left unattended. Only daytime burning is permitted and burn piles should be extinguished by the time evening darkness sets in. Kelly said volunteer fire departments have been directed to extinguish fires that are not put out by then.
The judge said no burning is allowed in affected or previously flooded areas along the river, described as highwater mark to highwater mark.
Kelly said once the state confirms areas are clear of human remains, the county plans to rotate burning through a series of zones so the county is not all lit up at once.
"There's going to be an East Zone, a West Zone — this is just the basics of it," he said. "And those zones are being broken down into subzones or sections, or whatever we call them. And we may have to change the wording because we have other people using terminology that we want to be consistent with."
Meanwhile, residents continue to also move debris to county road right of ways and state highway right of ways. The judge said contractors are then removing debris along the county roads, while the state is removing debris along the state roads, such as 39, 27, and 1340. The county asked residents to get accustomed to the presence of the cleanup operations, which will take a while.
Kelly and the commissioners put off public discussions on possibly raising the property tax rate temporarily to help pay for flood recovery until their Aug. 4 meeting. Property taxes fund the county budget, and the budget process is underway.
Revenue from property taxes was expected to take a big hit due to flood damage that has reduced property appraisals by $240 million.
Kimber Malcom of Heart O' the Hills camp said the flood devastation of the camping industry will have a ripple effect in the local economy.
"What we are experiencing is an economic disaster," she said. "It's a domino effect. Summer camps get people to come out. All those people come to our restaurants. They come to our hotels, our rental properties. You know, we're able to contribute to the schools."
The camps have been rocked by the flood, property appraisal plunges and now cancellations by campers and their parents who do not wish to return next summer.
