As a forecaster for the NWS... budget cuts had absolutely zero to do with this tragedy. The office in question was nearly fully staffed and extra balloon launches would not have helped. Trust me, I'm against the cuts and they have created all sorts of problems... but this was not one of those problems. If we are blaming people, we should blame local officials. A Flash Flood Watch was issued 13 hours in advance and a Flash Flood Warning highlighting a potential life threatening situation (that automatically went off on everyone's phones) was issued 3 hours before. The camp should have been evacuated but local officials ignored the warning and then tried to throw the NWS under the bus. Thankfully they are getting push back for their incompetence.