Camp Mystic Counselors Wrote Names of the Girls They…

Camp Mystic Counselors Wrote Names of the Girls They Were Comforting On Their Arms While Waiting for Help: 'I Had to Stay Strong'

Two Camp Mystic counselors are being praised as "guardian angels" for saving their cabin of girls during the deadly Texas storms on July 4. (Credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/X)

Two Camp Mystic counselors are being praised as heroes after writing 20 girls' names on their arms and staying up with them all night until they were rescued from the deadly Texas storms over the weekend.

In the early morning hours of July 4, flash floods overwhelmed the Camp Mystic grounds near the Guadalupe River during a severe thunderstorm. Silvana Garza Valdez and Maria Paula Zárate, both 19, protected dozens of girls attending the Christian summer camp. Channel2 Now reported.

The teenage Mexican counselors moved the girls to the highest cabin area, wrote their names on their arms and comforted them through the night, distracting them until other counselors arrived with more campers and food in the morning.

"We went to sleep, and around midnight, it started to rain like nothing I'd ever experienced," Garza told Channel2 Now. "The thunder rattled the windows, and lightning lit up the cabins."

"No one could sleep. The little girls were crying, saying, 'We're going to die,'" Garza continued. "I had to stay strong, even though I was scared, too," she added.

The young woman said she and others were devastated to see the storm's tragic aftermath, which included mattresses in the trees and children's clothing hanging in the branches after the storm passed.

"It's something I wouldn't wish on anyone," Garza tearfully told the outlet. "Two days before the flood, we were scheduled to be in one of the cabins that was washed away."

As a result of their efforts, the camp counselors have been praised online as "guardian angels."

At least 82 people, including 28 children, died in flash flooding along the Guadalupe River outside San Antonio over the weekend. As of Sunday morning, at least 41 people remain missing, including 10 campers and a Camp Mystic counselor, according to the Associated Press. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.

Experts have warned the cuts to federal spending made by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was led by Elon Musk, would have dangerous global consequences.

In February, the Trump administration cut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) budget by approximately 10%, including deep reductions to divisions supporting climate and severe weather modeling. These cuts contributed to the loss of an estimated 30% of the National Weather Service (NWS) workforce, primarily through early and voluntary retirements, with some employees reportedly receiving incentives of up to $25,000 to leave their positions.

As of early June, 30 of the NWS's 122 forecast offices, including the critical Houston office, were operating without a permanent meteorologist-in-charge, undermining local forecasting capacity during a period of escalating severe weather, as highlighted by the Houston Chronicle.

The Trump administration is considering further reductions for NOAA's fiscal year 2026 budget. According to a memo obtained by PBS News, a preliminary White House draft envisioned a significantly "leaner NOAA," with proposed cuts exceeding 25%, bringing the agency's budget to nearly half of what it was just a year ago.

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