First responders rescue dozens, business owners clean up damage after floods ravage Burnet County

BURNET COUNTY, Texas — In Burnet County, first responders scrambled to rescue dozens of people after floodwaters swept through the county on Saturday.

Two people were killed by the floods, both from RV parks – one near the city of Burnet and another near Faith Academy. Two people in Burnet County are missing.

Burnet County officials told KVUE Saturday evening that a third person had also died in the county, although the circumstances surrounding their death are unclear.

As rain fell and rivers surged, a jeep was swept off the road, and on Saturday afternoon, it sat off in the woods with its windshield wipers still on.

The flash flooding washed out and damaged several roads across the county.

Emergency Management Coordinator for Burnet County Derek Marchio told KVUE that first responders conducted more than 40 water rescues by 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Emergency officials in Burnet County are also searching for a fire official, Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Phillips, who appears to have been swept away by floodwaters early Saturday. Phillips was responding to a call when he drove into the water, and his vehicle was washed away.

The emergency vehicle had been recovered, but Phillips was not inside.

Brent Cloid owns the Thirsty Penguin in Burnet. Several feet of water from the nearby Hamilton Creek came surging into his store early Saturday morning.

“It ripped that cooler door off our main cooler,” Cloid said. “It went through like nothing. The water went from 50 feet out to in through the building within 30 minutes.”

Cloid raced to his store after security cameras alerted him around 4 a.m. that water had enveloped it.

“It was about two feet from the back of the building when it finally got down to where the roads were at a point where I was able to get in and all that,” Cloud said. “The water shifted the whole building over in the back part.”

Inside, the watermark is visible, and a thick, two-to-three-inch layer of mud coats the floor.

“It was pushing all the beer and wine out, and we even found a keg about a mile down the line,” Cloid said.

The flooding left multiple 1,000-pound machines mangled into a pile.

“I’ve never seen it like this before or experienced anything like this. I am still trying to get my mind wrapped around it all,” Cloid said. “It’s kind of weird because it’s all empty now, and all our products are down the river.”

It is the second year Cloid has been in this location. He has two other stores, located in Liberty Hill and Lampasas. The Thirsty Penguin was one of several businesses that flooded along South Water Street in Burnet. 

It is also the second flood Cloid’s family has dealt with this week. His parents live in Kerrville, which is experiencing historic and devastating flooding.

“After seeing all the Kerrville stuff, I was like, ‘This is a once in my lifetime kind of thing,’ and then I see the Kerrville thing happened with my parents, and I was like, ‘wow,'” Cloid said. “Now it happened twice here.”

Cloid’s parents are okay, but some street drainage flooded into their house.

By Saturday afternoon, the water had receded, and the store was no longer submerged. However, most, if not all, of the products will have to be discarded. Cloid said repair costs for machines alone will be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“We’re trying to get it dried out, and we’ll see what the next steps are to get us back open,” Cloid said.

First responders in Burnet County wrapped up their search operations just before sunset, but they will be back out Sunday morning to continue the search for the two people missing.