Sycamore Firefighter Returns After Two-Week Flood Rescue Mission in Texas

SYCAMORE — Lieutenant Erik Carlson of the Sycamore Fire Department returned home Friday after spending 14 days in Texas as part of a 39-member Illinois Urban Search and Rescue Task Force responding to deadly flooding that killed more than 130 people in the Texas Hill Country. The team, deployed through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and activated by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, faced extreme heat, rough terrain, and hazardous conditions while conducting search and rescue efforts. Nearly two dozen states sent personnel to assist after torrential rains caused rivers like the Guadalupe to surge more than 25 feet in minutes, destroying communities and triggering widespread evacuations.