The Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department rescued over 1,000 people in a 20-hour operation during Texas Hill Country floods.
MOUNTAIN HOME, Texas — When floodwaters surged through the Texas Hill Country over the Fourth of July holiday, a small but mighty swift water rescue team from a volunteer fire department became an anchor in the chaos.
In just 20 hours, the Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department helped rescue more than 1,000 people—on foot, in the dark, and through waters moving at 150,000 cubic feet per second—compared to the usual 100 to 200 CFS.
“We all grew up in this area,” said firefighter Dusty Block. “Our entire team.”
It began at 3:37 a.m. when Hunt-area first responders called for backup. The Mountain Home team was the first to answer—five swift water rescue personnel in two trucks, one red and one white. But the situation quickly turned dire.
“We were there for about two minutes… and in that two-minute time period a wall of water came,” said Dusty Block. “It was pitch black—then all of a sudden, you see water coming over your truck.”
The team was forced to abandon their white truck. As the sun came up, they returned to find it wedged against a building—empty but not useless.
“One guy got swept out of his house,” Block said. “Saw this truck floating, was able to swim to it, climb up on top of this and rode it until it got to its final spot.”
They moved quickly, saving families stranded in RVs and trees and helping the elderly—including a 70-year-old woman whose oxygen tank had washed away.
Dispatch soon called in a new concern: Camp Honey Creek, where hundreds of girls were waiting.
“Our team knew we could make it by foot,” said Block. “But it was going to be an 8-mile hike.”
With their gear gone and one truck totaled, the team relied on adrenaline and determination, trekking over 60 miles in a single day.
“Basically every half-mile somebody needed help. We helped people out of trees, off of rooftops.”
The force of the flood changed everything.
“It changed the whole topography of the river,” said Dusty’s brother and fellow Mountain Home volunteer firefighter, Road Block. “Places we were once able to have boats deployed we can no longer do that.”
Through it all, they never stopped.
“We’re problem-solvers and we don’t give up,” said Dusty. “We’re very much a group of people we go until we’re told to stop. I think if anyone told us to stop, we weren’t gonna.”
“It’s not something anyone trained for,” Road added. “The river created a scenario that nobody’s ever been taught or trained for.”
Help even came from across the border—fire crews from Acuña, Mexico, whom the department had trained just two months prior.
“When they saw what was happening to us, they called and said, ‘We’re on our way,’” said Road. “They brought in techniques we never thought of using.”
The group said the emotional toll was heavy—especially at places like Camp Mystic, where several victims were connected. That part of their rescue, they’re keeping close to their hearts.
The firefighters have only had two days of rest since July 4. They continue responding to calls, thanks to other fire departments from across Texas filling in.
“We went through some dark times on the Fourth,” Road said. “But as a group, it brought us closer.”
Mountain Home hopes to expand their swift water rescue team. They’ve launched a GoFundMe to replace their lost gear and continue protecting the community.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” said Mountain Home volunteer firefighter David Hurt. “If you’re having a bad day, we’re gonna do the best we can to make it better. We’re not gonna stop. It doesn’t matter what time it is.”
