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How Texas Is Getting Ready for Wildfires in 2025

This article looks at how Texas is preparing for wildfires, what risks exist, and how communities are protecting themselves.

Chris Fluegge

16 Mar 2025 — 4 min read

In February 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott renewed the state's wildfire emergency plan. This shows that Texas is still facing big wildfire challenges. More than 14,500 communities are in areas where neighborhoods meet wild lands - places where fires can be very dangerous.

This article looks at how Texas is preparing for wildfires, what risks exist, and how communities are protecting themselves.

Where Are Fires Most Likely in Texas?

The Texas A&M Forest Service reports that different parts of Texas face different fire risks¹:

West Texas has strong winds (30 mph) and very dry air, making fires spread easily
East Texas has had flooding that will cause more plants to grow, which could fuel fires later
Panhandle region has grasses that died in freezes and are now very easy to burn

Fire safety is harder in Texas because 94% of land is privately owned, making it difficult to create one plan for the whole state².

The Governor's Emergency Plan

Governor Abbott's emergency plan covers 47 counties where fire danger has been high since October 2024³. This plan allows Texas to:

Send over 2,000 emergency workers to dangerous areas
Use more than 1,500 special vehicles and aircraft
Coordinate all emergency work through one center⁴

Texas emergency managers are handling two problems at once: flood rescue teams work in East Texas while firefighting planes and helicopters focus on West Texas⁵. They're also getting ready for an Arctic cold front that will bring freezing temperatures by February 20⁴.

Protecting Communities Near Wild Areas

Texas has 21.5 million acres where neighborhoods meet wilderness (called the "Wildland Urban Interface" or WUI)⁶. These areas are very dangerous during fires. In 2011, the Steiner Ranch Fire destroyed 23 homes after power lines sparked a fire⁷.

Since that fire, Texas has created new safety measures:

Warn Central Texas Alert System: Sends emergency text messages and emails
Automatic Aid Agreements: 14 fire departments work together without worrying about city boundaries
Safety Zones: Rules requiring 100-foot clearings around homes in high-risk areas⁸

Making Infrastructure Safer

New Braunfels shows how cities can protect themselves:

Testing fire hydrants every year
Requiring strong water flow for new neighborhoods
Clearing plants away from 300 miles of power lines⁸

The Texas A&M Forest Service also created a guide called Wildfire: Preparing the Ranch to help ranchers protect their animals and buildings⁹. This is important because 2024 Panhandle fires killed 12,000 cattle and caused $123 million in damage⁹.

How Texas Fights Fires Statewide

Texas has created these firefighting groups:

Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System: 350+ fire departments sharing 1,200+ pieces of equipment
Texas Task Force 1: Rescue teams that can deploy within 4 hours
ERCOT Grid Protection: Weatherproofing 85% of critical power equipment⁴

The February 2025 fire plan includes:

Equipment	Number	What They Do
Fire Engines	215	Protect buildings, create fire lines
Bulldozers	47	Clear paths to stop fires
Helicopters	12	Drop water, start controlled burns
Medical Teams	9	Treat burn injuries

Source: Texas A&M Forest Service⁵

Early Warning Systems

Texas uses new technology to predict fires:

1,200 sensors checking how dry plants are every 15 minutes
Detailed weather forecasts
Satellite images showing stressed vegetation¹

This system was 94% accurate in predicting January 2025 fires, allowing firefighters to position near Canadian and Pampa before fires started⁹.

Teaching Communities to Protect Themselves

The Texas A&M Forest Service's Ready, Set, Go! program has taught 1.4 million Texans since 2020:

Creating Safety Zones: Keep 30 feet clear around homes
Using Fire-Resistant Materials: Special roofing that resists burning embers
Planning Escape Routes: 78% of at-risk communities now have evacuation maps¹⁰

In Austin, 31 neighborhoods have earned Firewise USA recognition by holding community cleanup days that removed 12,000 tons of burnable plants in 2024¹¹.

Protecting Power Lines and Infrastructure

San Antonio is spending $45 million to make its power grid safer:

Burying 120 miles of power lines in risky areas
Installing 950 devices that detect electrical problems
Replacing wooden poles with steel ones in 14 high-risk areas¹²

Future Challenges and Plans

The National Interagency Fire Center's 2025 report shows Texas facing:

Fire seasons that are 23% longer than in 2000
17% more major wildfire outbreaks
40% growth expected in high-risk areas by 2040¹³

Recommendations for the Future

Better Building Codes: Require fire-resistant materials in 63 high-risk counties
More Controlled Burns: Increase from 250,000 to 500,000 acres each year
New Technology: Use AI cameras that can spot fires within 15 minutes
More Firefighters: Create 5 regional training schools to fill 70+ open positions⁷

In November 2025, Austin will host 1,200+ experts at the Wildfire Preparedness Conference to create Texas's plan through 2030¹⁴.

Conclusion: Building a Safer Texas

Texas faces growing wildfire risks that require constant improvement in how we prepare and respond. State agencies have better prediction tools and coordination than ever before, but there are still major challenges in protecting communities near wilderness and managing private lands.

In the coming years, Texas needs to move from just fighting fires to preventing them through better planning, building practices, and land management.

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