Kelly Clarkson Honors Texas Flood Heroes In Emotional Return To Her Talk Show Following Ex's Death

In July 2025, homes, businesses, Camp Mystic, and more were swept away when central Texas was devastated with severe flooding. At Camp Mystic alone, 27 campers and staff members, including the camp's director, died during the initial flood.

Many people were caught off guard by the flooding and were left stranded mid-flood, getting to the highest ground they could find while they waited and hoped for help to come.

That day, a team of bus drivers rallied to go to Camp Mystic, which is a faith-based and family-centric all-girls summer camp that many Texas families view as a tradition to be passed down through generations. Upon arriving, the drivers were able to rescue more than 900 girls from the campgrounds.

On her first episode back on the Kelly Clarkson Show after her ex-husband passed away, having lost his battle with cancer, Kelly Clarkson honored these bus drivers by inviting them onto the show to share their experiences that day.

Clarkson could barely keep herself together, each of the bus drivers appeared choked up while recollecting their experiences, and there was hardly a dry eye in the audience.

Some drivers were still shocked from the state of central Texas after the mass flooding.

"They didn't have shirts, shoes. It was really hard, driving out there and seeing how everything was torn up and you just, I greet my kids every day, and then here are these kids, and it's just like, 'Come on, let's get you home.'"

One driver was haunted by wrestling with the level of loss.

"It was awesome to see all the parents reunited with their kids... But the hardest part was when the last kid got off your bus, and the parents just asked, 'Was that it?'"

You can see the Instagram video here:

You can see the full segment here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Viewers were grateful for the bus drivers who stepped in to care for these children.

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Not all heroes wear capes, and it's important to remember that sometimes they drive school buses.

This incredible group of people stepped up in a way that most people didn't, and protected the lives of 900 young girls who couldn't necessarily care for themselves.