2025 Texas wildfires

2025 Texas wildfires
Smoke from the Crabapple Fire on March 15
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The 2025 Texas wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned throughout the U.S. state of Texas.

Background

Dormant fire season

From Mid-February to Mid-April, vegetation is often dead or dormant. Combined with dry winds, low humidity, and La Niña-related conditions, fuels can ignite more easily—and once started, fires spread rapidly due to these atmospheric patterns. This timeframe sees elevated wildfire activity in the absence of vegetation green-up.[1][2] Brad Smith of Texas A&M Forest Service notes this aligns with La Niña cycles, which intensify dryness and wind in winter into spring.[3]

Growing-season peak

From March to May, as vegetation greens up and then dries, especially after a wet winter, the combination of abundant grass fuel, warmer, drier weather, and occasional lightning can ignite severe wildfires. These months contribute to a significant proportion of the state's largest fires.[4][5]

Year-round risk

Over time, Texas has seen a trend toward year-round wildfire risk, driven by changing land use, climate trends, and increased human activity. According to Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, what used to be two distinct seasons have blurred, as fire conditions now show up in all months.[6] This is further compounded by climate change, which has extended "fire weather"—days combining heat, dryness, and wind—raising wildfire potential across the state.[7]

Summary

Texas's 2025 wildfire season began early, with dry fuels, strong winds, and low humidity contributing to heightened fire danger across many regions. In March, several major grass and brush fires ignited across the Texas Panhandle and Central Texas.[8]

One of the most significant fires was the Crabapple Fire in Gillespie County, which burned about 9,858 acres and destroyed or threatened numerous structures.[9] The fire was fully contained by March 21.[10]

As the season progressed, dry vegetation and drought stress increasingly primed much of East and Central Texas for fire outbreaks. Governor Greg Abbott recently raised the state’s Wildland Fire Preparedness Level to Level 3 in response to wildfire activity exceeding 3,000 acres in recent weeks.[11]

Texas A&M Forest Service reports that in a recent reporting period, they responded to 25 new fire incidents burning 379.2 acres statewide, indicating that while many fires are small, the environment remains capable of producing larger events.[12]

State and federal agencies remain on heightened alert, as much of the eastern half of Texas currently has dry vegetation and elevated fire potential. The Texas Fire Potential Update indicates that Central and East Texas will see moderate initial attack fire potential, with short windows of higher danger where conditions allow.[13]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), produced significant structural damage, or resulted in casualties.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date[a] Notes Ref.
Blue Hills Hutchinson, Moore 3,900 February 1
February 4
 [15]
Middleton Chambers 3,089 February 16
February 18
 [16]
Twin Oryx La Salle 2,156 March 4
March 6
 [17]
Welder Complex San Patricio 775 March 4
March 8
 Damaged multiple structures and caused four injuries. [18][19][20]
Windmill Ochiltree, Lipscomb, Roberts 23,287 March 14
March 20
 [21]
Rest Area Gray, Donley 7,931 March 14
March 16
 [22]
Crabapple Gillespie 9,858 March 15
March 21
 [23]
Persimmon Jefferson 1,691 March 16
March 19
 [24]
High Lonesome Dallam 23,335 March 18
March 20
 [25]
Pauline Road San Jacinto, Montgomery 2,421 March 19 March 26 [26]
Salt Lake Brazoria 1,025 July 30 August 1 [27]
Tule Swisher, Briscoe 2,548 October 4 October 5 Included two grass fires that burned west of Silverton. [28]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out.[14]

References

  1. ^ "La Niña and Texas' Winter Fire Season". Texas A&M AgriLife Today. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  2. ^ "Wildfires — growing and dormant season in Texas". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  3. ^ "La Niña and Texas' Winter Fire Season". Texas A&M AgriLife Today. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "Red flag warning: Here's when Texas wildfire season gets going". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  5. ^ "Texas Panhandle fire grows to 1 million acres..." Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Texas wildfires are now a year-round threat. What changed?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  7. ^ ""Fire weather" is happening more often". Axios Austin. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  8. ^ "2025 March Wildfires". Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  9. ^ "Crabapple Fire - TXTXS". InciWeb. March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  10. ^ "Crabapple Fire Daily Update 03-17-2025". InciWeb. March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  11. ^ "Governor Abbott Activates Additional State Wildfire Resources". Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  12. ^ "Current Wildfire Status - Texas A&M Forest Service". Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  13. ^ "Texas Fire Potential Update" (PDF). Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  14. ^ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  15. ^ "Blue Hills Fire". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  16. ^ "Middleton Wildfire Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  17. ^ "Twin Oryx Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  18. ^ "Welder Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  19. ^ "Railway Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  20. ^ "Welder Complex Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  21. ^ "Windmill Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  22. ^ "Rest Area Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  23. ^ "Crabapple Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  24. ^ "Persimmon Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  25. ^ "High Lonesome Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  26. ^ "Pauline Road Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  27. ^ "Salt Lake Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  28. ^ Vogel, Shelby (October 5, 2025). "Tule fire near Silverton 100% contained". KFDA-TV. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
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