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Illinois firefighters join disaster response in Texas

Posted July 14, 2025 7:35 pm

Russell Lissau

A team of Illinois firefighters are conducting search-and-rescue missions in flood-ravaged Texas as part of a national response to the crisis there.

Thirty-nine firefighters representing 25 agencies deployed to Texas as Illinois Task Force 1. All are from departments participating in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, a statewide disaster response program based in Wheeling. They come from nine counties, most in northeast Illinois, said MABAS Operations Section Chief Kevin Lyne.

The team got the order to deploy Friday and left that day, Lyne said. They arrived near the disaster zone Saturday, checked in Sunday and started work Monday.

People look at debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas after a flash flood swept through the area earlier this month. AP

At least 132 people were confirmed dead as of Monday from July 4 floods that hit central Texas. Dozens of people remain missing.

Search and rescue operations along the Guadalupe River were halted Sunday after a new round of severe weather led to high water rescues elsewhere and prompted fears that waterways could surge again above their banks.

· Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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