“We’re only four months into 2025 and, already, 21 wildfires have burned over 11,000 acres across Central Texas. We must do everything known to reduce the risk of wildfire,” Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard said in a statement.
Current situation
In recent years, the Austin area has been among the highest wildfire risk communities nationwide, according to evaluations by Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Forest Service.
Austin currently ranks fifth in the nation for number of homes at risk of wildfire, up from statistics Mayor Kirk Watson shared with reporters during last year's pre-emptive declaration of disaster ahead of an anticipated winter fire season.
To boot, a recent report from the Texas Comptroller Office estimated 85% of wildfires in Texas ignite within just 2 miles of a community, posing a threat to an estimated 94,673 homes across the metro at moderate to high risk of wildfire damage.
One contributing factor lies in Austin's substantial wildland-urban interface, or WUI, zone where developed and undeveloped areas meet. The Austin-area WUI zone is often described as distinct and spread-out.
“It's unique in a lot of different ways,” said David Bock, a wildfire mitigation specialist with the Austin Fire Department.
Southeast and southwest Travis County in particular pose similarly high risks of wildfire but for different reasons, Bock said.
He explained that on the east side of Austin, high-density development has led to very closely built structures along fire-susceptible grasslands, making it easier for fire to transfer from building to building quickly.
Bock added there is often a misconception on what wildfires look like in their early stages.
“[Wildfires are] not Hollywood. Everybody's worried about this flame front coming for them, like a flood or other types of disasters,” Bock said. “But the risk here is more unique than that. It's more a small fire that actually [ignites] several structures that we can't get in front of.”
On the west side of Austin, Bock said wildfire risks stem from “heavy vegetation” and difficult topography to navigate when responding to wildfires.
Although local fire and city departments, such as Travis County Parks, routinely work to clear brush and reduce potential fire fuels—a task Bock called an “impossible undertaking” after winter storms—about 70% of properties in the WUI are privately owned.
What's being done
Austin City Council first adopted the WUI code in 2020, making Austin the first major city in Texas to do so, per city documents. On April 10, council members adopted changes to the WUI code.
The 2025 updated WUI zoning map classifies a little over half of Austin’s habitable land — tens of thousands of acres — in a risk zone, up 38% from a decade ago, according to city officials.
Under council's direction, the city manager will present an annual report on the code and explore options for voluntary retrofitting of existing residential structures to mitigate wildfire risk.
As the city examines ways to reduce wildfire risk, which encompassing both developed land and unoccupied wildlands, local firefighting tactics continue to vary widely between structure fires in neighborhoods and wildfires in open areas.
“When you respond to a wildfire, it can be this huge, massive, moving thing that you cannot even [fully] see or get the full scope of,” said David Perkins, Travis County Emergency Service District No. 2 fire chief. “You have to rely on other tactics and mechanisms to manage those fires.”
Over the last decade, several Travis County Emergency Services Districts, Travis County Parks, local land managers and Austin Water have partnered to offer wildfire training courses in Central Texas.
“We're all speaking the same language. We know what we're supposed to do, we know how we're supposed to talk and how we're supposed to interact,” Perkins said.
Held in alternating years between west and east Austin, the program gives firefighters and land managers hands-on experience in a range of environments, from varied vegetation to different types of development, helping them prepare for the challenges of responding to wildfires across Central Texas.
Additionally, the Austin Fire Department became the largest force in the U.S. last summer to move all of its members through an advanced wildfire response program.
Call to action
"The professionals [who support] us cooperate, collaborate, and coordinate. They are ready—and we, the public, need to do our part,” Commissioner Howard said.
As county officials recognize May as Wildfire Awareness Month, the Travis County Emergency Services Department is urging residents to take proactive steps to protect their homes, families and communities from wildfire danger.
“As we've experienced very vividly over the past few years, weather is intensifying due to climate change,” Watson said. “We have to change the way we prepare for these emergencies.”
In Texas, 90% of wildfires are started by humans, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. According to local officials, these human-caused fires are often a result of things like burning of debris, sparks from dragging vehicle chains or negligently discarded cigarettes.
In times with elevated fire weather conditions, preparing and protecting the home for wildfire defense is important, Perkins said.
He highlighted five tips for making homes more fire-resistant:
- Clear debris away from home and decks.
- Clean gutters regularly, covered or guarded gutters preferred.
- Install mesh screening over vents.
- Establish noncombustible siding or fencing connected directly to home.
- Plant vegetation and landscaping 5 feet away from home.
A defensible space is a buffer between a home and surrounding vegetation or debris, such as trees, brush or even missing roof shingles.
Residents are advised to trim tree branches so they are at least 10 feet away from the residence and keep flammable items away from house or store them in a garage or shed.
Those outside city limits can contact the county fire marshal or local fire department in Williamson, Travis or Hays County.
Residents are encouraged to visit the Ready, Set, Go! wildfire preparedness website to actively prepare homes for the impending wildfire season.
Officials also recommend signing up for local emergency alerts at WarnCentralTexas.org.
“We want to make sure everybody has a kit ... that way they’ve got their medications and their supplies to be away from their home or business for a little bit,” Perkins said. “And we want to make sure you have a way to receive emergency alerts.”
Put in perspective
Perkins, who has been with ESD No. 2 since 1998, said wildfire risk tends to ebb and flow in cycles, based on his experience with local weather patterns.
He noted that while some wildfire seasons have been especially active, Travis County has never recorded a wildfire-related death.
Perkins added that, in terms of severity, probability and likelihood, Travis County is considered only at moderate wildfire risk.
“So we put most of our efforts into the things that we know are going to impact people and can kill people,” he said. “For us as a fire department, that's house fires—we've had three people die in house fires in the past 18 months.”
He said it’s crucial to take wildfire risks seriously, but when allocating resources, the top priority with a limited resource pool is keeping people safe and following the data to determine where help is most needed.
