Wildfires erupt in Texas: Why the risk of blazes is so high there
Wildfires erupted in Texas on Tuesday afternoon in San Patricio County, and in Buda, a town just south of Austin. Strong winds have knocked out power to more than 20,000 customers.
Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service updated red flag warnings to include a large swath of southern Texas, as high winds roared through the state bringing elevated risk of wildfires.
“Dangerous, potentially historic, extreme fire weather conditions are forecast Tuesday across our area,” the NWS Austin/San Antonio office said in a post on social media. “Very strong winds and low humidity will support the rapid spread and difficult suppression of any wildfires that may ignite. Avoid activities that could cause a wildfire!”
In a Monday order, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to ready additional emergency response teams “in anticipation of extremely critical wildfire danger.”
Travis County Judge Andy Brown on Monday signed a Declaration of Local Disaster after meteorologists forecast dangerous extreme fire weather conditions on Tuesday. Under the disaster declaration, a burn ban is in effect for all areas of Travis County, including areas within city limits.
In Austin, a county judge signed a disaster declaration Monday night ahead of the red flag conditions.
“Under the Disaster Declaration, a Burn Ban is in effect for all areas of Travis County, including areas within city limits,” the city of Austin wrote in a press release. Austin, the release noted, “ranks sixth in the nation in number of homes at risk of wildfire.”
Despite the fact that Austin saw a light amount of rain Tuesday morning, the red flag conditions persisted, in part because Central Texas has been in the grip of a drought for several years. Possible wind gusts of between 40 to 50 mph were also forecast across much of the state, and the NWS issued a high wind warning for most locations.
While California most often comes to mind when people think of wildfires, recent wildfires in the Northeast and the Carolinas have shown that, thanks in part to changing climate conditions, blazes can break out in many parts of the country.
That’s long been true of Texas, which is second to California in terms of the number of wildfires recorded each year and which records more acres burned than any other state.
“The expanding threat of wildfires to Texas communities is a result of the state’s ever-changing land use, climate and population,” Texas A&M Forest Service states on its website. “Many Texas communities are within or are growing into the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). The WUI is an area where people and their homes meet or mix with wildland vegetation.”
With its rapidly expanding population, there are 14,500 communities at risk of wildfire in Texas, Texas A&M Forest Service said. Between 2005 and 2022, 231,253 wildfires burned 12,454,769 acres in Texas, data compiled by the forest service shows. Those blazes have resulted in dozens of deaths and billions of dollars in property damage, Environment Texas reported.
Warmer average temperatures caused by the continued burning of fossil fuels are increasing the number of fire-prone days in communities across the country, data from Climate Central shows.
“Three of the top states with the greatest number of households in the WUI also saw an increase in fire weather days during the period of Climate Central’s analysis: California, Texas, and North Carolina,” Climate Central said.
Higher temperatures increase evaporation in vegetation, making them that much drier and more flammable.
As has been seen this week in Texas and the Carolinas, the combination of low relative humidity, warm air temperatures and wind can elevate underlying conditions, making the risk of wildfires that much greater.
In response to what could turn out to be the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, California’s political leaders have taken swift action to try to help residents rebuild thousands of homes and businesses destroyed in a spate of deadly wildfires.
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High winds have knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers.
Why is the risk of wildfires increasing in Texas?
Growing problem
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Red flag warning alerting of favorable wildfire conditions issued across Southeast Texas Tuesday
The warning was upgraded from a fire weather watch overnight and expands across areas along and west of Interstate 45. The warning will be in effect until Tuesday evening, according to the weather service.
The National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a red flag warning across Harris County, alerting that conditions are favorable for wildfires.
The warning was upgraded from a fire weather watch overnight and expands across areas along and west of Interstate 45. The warning will be in effect until Tuesday evening, according to the weather service.
Wind gusts potentially reaching 45 miles per hour and a relative humidity of 15 to 25 percent prompted the weather service to issue the warning. A Gale Warning alerting of sustained winds ranging from 35 to 47 knots and hazardous wind and wave conditions was also issued across all Gulf waters and Galveston Bay.
“It’s likely just going to be some very isolated instances if anything, but chances are much higher towards the northeast of the Houston area as far as severe weather goes,” Cameron Batiste, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
Some storms could become strong to severe, running the risk of strong wind gusts, hail and isolated tornadoes.
There is a slight risk of severe weather for locations generally east and northeast of the Houston metro area and a marginal risk along and east of the Interstate 45 corridor, according to the weather service.
The red flag warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for areas along and west of Interstate 45 and until 6 p.m. for all areas of Southeast Texas. If strong winds materialize, sporadic power outages are possible.
The weather service is encouraging residents to avoid open flames or sparks, keep vehicles off of dry grass and properly discard cigarettes. Residents should avoid all fire-related activities and use extreme caution if working with equipment that could spark.
A coastal flood advisory is also in effect over each high tide cycle through 9 p.m. Tuesday.
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BLOG: Wildfires spark in Central Texas amid extreme fire danger
KXAN Austin
by: Kate Winkle, Erica Pauda
Posted: Mar 4, 2025 / 04:55 PM CST
Updated: Mar 4, 2025 / 05:39 PM CST
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Crews are battling wildfires in Central Texas Tuesday as the region is experiencing a day of “potentially historic” fire conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Although rain swept through parts of Central Texas in the morning, high winds, dry air and dry brush and trees on the ground are contributing to the risk of fire in the area.
On Tuesday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service put most of our area in an extreme (5 out of 5) wildfire risk, with red flag warnings in effect through the night.
5:30 p.m.
The Austin Community College Elgin campus said it is closing early due to a power outage.
“Only agriculture classes on the campus will continue on their regular schedules. All other classes, work, and activities at Elgin are canceled for the remainder of the day. No other campuses are affected,” a spokesperson for ACC said in a statement.
ACC said updates will be posted to the ACC website and the district’s social media pages.
5:20 p.m.
As high winds soar in Central Texas, KXAN continues tracking multiple wildfires across Central Texas. Our Sarah Al-Shaikh, who was reporting from Manor, said firefighters are continuing to monitor a brush fire on Blue Goose Road.
4:40 p.m.
KXAN keeps track of wildfires in Texas. More than 300 acres have burned in wildfires across Central Texas so far in 2025, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
We’ll keep them updated as new information becomes available. Fires that are still uncontained are red on the map in the article.
4:35 p.m.
The Texas A&M Forest Service is responding to a fire in Blanco County, the agency said on social media around 4:20 p.m.
The fire, now being called the Klett Fire, is estimated at 100 acres and is 0% contained.
3:44 p.m.
The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management said on social media there were at least eight fires reported in the county Tuesday.
“Fortunately, most have been contained thanks to the diligent work of our first responders,” the office said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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