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Only one area of the county - the Burleigh community off of Huff Road - remained without electricity as of press time Monday morning. Overall, Pct. 4, including the community of Frydek, suffered the most damage, according to Austin County Judge Carolyn Bilski.

“Brazos Country was without lights for about 24 hours, and there were lots of trees down in Pct. 4 and lots of roads trashed,” she said.

For the most part, the damage in the county was minimal due to the path of the storm.

“I just think we were spared,” Bilski said. “We dodged the bullet.”

Nonetheless, citizens and emergency responders in the county were well prepared for the worst, she said. It helped that county officials always counted on the area being in the path of the storm, in some capacity or other.

“One way or another, we were going to have to take precautions,” Bilski said.

Those precautions included a team of local Red Cross volunteers on standby in case shelters needed to be opened, and an effective effort of residents to find reliable shelter.

County officials stayed in constant communications with city mayors and city managers, and a team stayed at the courthouse running the phones for 24 hours during the storm, including a bilingual staff member who answered phones in Spanish.

“It provided reassurance that someone was here,” Bilski said.

The county Emergency Medical Service (EMS) added staff to the weekend shift, and the sheriff’s department had officers and dispatch personnel stay at its headquarters during the storm.

Bellville General Hospital took in evacuees from low-lying coastal areas.

“It was gratifying to see Bellville General staffed-up and resourced-up and ready to go,” she said.

The county relied on the tireless efforts of individuals to help with adequate preparations.

Dan White made sure the radio operation system between the county and the cities of Wallis and Brazos Country were working in case phone lines went down, and Connie Klostermann made sure the local nursing homes she owned took in those with special needs who needed medical attention or safe shelter.

The Colorado Valley Transit Bus System stood ready to take those confined to a wheelchair or their bed to safe facilities should they need it.

And in Pct. 3, Commissioner Randy Reichardt took time to set up a generator so the Sealy Police Department would “be ready to go” in case the department lost power, Bilski said.

“It was just a great team effort,” she said. “Now, we’re not in recovery.”

The team of first responders is the citizens, she said, and she thanked people for “listening and being as wise as they were and for being as alert and prepared as they were.”

Residents in the county took the time to not only gather preparations and find safe shelter, but also call the county and get informed about what to do.

“If it happens again, we want to know that they’re going to stay as prepared and informed and interested in their well being as they were this time,” Bilski said.

She encouraged those who felt like they were not prepared for the storm to attend Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training sessions.

“If you feel like you weren’t prepared, you need to go through this six-week class,” she said.

In the aftermath of the storm, the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), along with local first responders, helped move traffic along I-10, which was jammed with evacuees coming back home. TXDOT also ensured the area had an adequate supply of fuel, bringing in fuel trucks for local gas stations.

“They’re the heroes behind the scenes,” Bilski said. “They’re the ones moving the limbs out of the road. They serve the vital functions of placing fuel in the area and moving traffic. Public safety is another one of their functions, and they did a great job in this case.”

Overall, the county was lucky in only suffering a small amount of damage.

“This was a lesson,” Bilski said. “If we would not have been where we are, we would have been in the recovery stage now, and you better be sure you would have needed to have that five- to three-day supply of stuff.”

For more information about CERT classes or how to stay prepared, call Bilski's office at the county courthouse at (979) 865-5911.

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