2026 Texas wildfires

2026 Texas wildfires
Statistics
Total fires15
Total area76,553 acres (30,980 ha)
← 2025

The 2026 Texas wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned in the U.S. state of Texas.

Background

While "fire season" varies every year in Texas, most wildfires occur in between February and April. However, there is an increasing fire danger all year-round. Fire conditions can be exacerbated by drought, strong winds, La Niña, and vegetation growth. Climate change is leading to increased temperatures, lower humidity levels, and drought conditions that are happening more often.[1]

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.
8 Ball Armstrong, Donley 13,564 February 17 February 21 Caused evacuations for the community of Howardwick. [3]
Lavender Oldham, Potter 18,423 February 17 February 22 Caused evacuations for boys ranch [4][5]
Cypress Creek Wilderness Angelina, Jasper 6,745 February 24 March 9 Burned in the Angelia national forest. 1 million in suppression costs [6]
Nebo Mountain Gillespie 1,160 February 24 February 25 [7]
Dolly Swisher 1,533 March 3 March 3 [8]
Cabin Creek Gray 7,000 March 9 March 11 Burned east of Lefors. [9]
Yellow Oldham, Moore, Hartley 14,374 March 10 March 13 Burned east of Channing. Closed State Highway 354. Prompted the evacuation of Valle de Oro. [10]
Neon Beige Oldham 1,688 March 15 March 16 [11]
Armstrong Oaks Brooks, Kenedy 2,245 March 19 March 21 [12]
Hutchinson Hutchinson 2,937 March 24 March 27 [13]
Lefty Hall 1,382 April 2 April 4 Burned 25 miles (40 km) west of Childress. [14]
Meadow View Potter 1,262 April 6 April 8 [15]
Red Oldham 3,000 April 9
95%
 Burning southeast of Channing. Lightning caused [16]
Purple Monster Oldham 1,910 April 9 April 11 Burned north of Vega. Lightning caused [17]
Neon White Dickens 1,240 April 17 April 20 Burned 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Dickens. [18]
Hunggate Randall, Deaf Smith 34,131 May 14 May 19 Lightning-caused. Prompted evacuations near Canyon and destroyed a trestle bridge, three residential structures, and several outbuildings. Merged with the Chocolate Chip Fire. [19][20][21]
Shifty Potter 5,277 May 14 May 15 Burned west of U.S. Route 87. [22]
McBride Carson 2,192 May 14 May 14 Burned northwest of Panhandle. [23]
Crooked Crook Motley 1,388 May 14 May 15 Burned northeast of Matador. [24]
Roman Hartley 6,294 May 14 May 16 Burning in Romero. [25]
Cherokee Briscoe, Hall 3,222 May 15 May 16 Closed State Highway 70 near Antelope Flats. [26]
Western Randall 1,137 May 15 May 16 Lightning-caused. Burned south of Canyon. [27][20]
Ox Bow Hall 1,014 May 15 May 16 Lightning-caused. Burned northeast of Turkey. [28][20]
Chainey Mountain Hall 1,201 May 15 May 16 Lightning-caused. Burned west of Childress. [29][20]
Rita Blanca Unit 32 Dallam 8,907 May 15 May 16 Burned on Rita Blanca National Grassland. [30]
Comanche Motley, Cottle, Hall 1,990 May 15 May 17 Lightning-caused. Burned off FM 94. [31][20]
Stinky Potter 2,335 May 17 May 21 Burned at a landfill in Amarillo. [32][33]
Kress Swisher 1,551 May 18 May 19 Burned in Kress. [34]
Getaway Pens Dickens 1,034 July 8 July 12 Burned 14 miles (23 km) east of Spur. [35]
Cusenbary Draw Sutton 1,376 July 9 July 11 Burned east of U.S. Route 277. [36]
Rio Escondido Coryell, Hamilton 2,626 August 24
50%
 Prompting evacuations just northeast of Evant. [37]
Ross Jack, Palo Pinto 87,796.1 August 24
21%
 Burning 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Palo Pinto. Prompting evacuations, closed U.S. Route 180, and destroyed at least five structures, including Worth Ranch. [38][39][40]

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.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "La Niña and Texas' Winter Fire Season". Texas A&M AgriLife Today. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  2. ↑ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ↑ "8 Ball Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Lavender Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  5. ↑ Cavazos, Canion (February 24, 2026). "Lavender Fire destroys Valle de Oro home where man lived for more than 20 years". www.newschannel10.com. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Cypress Creek Wilderness Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Nebo Mountain Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Dolly Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Cabin Creek Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Yellow Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Neon Beige Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Armstrong Oaks Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Hutchinson Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Lefty Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Meadow View Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Red Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Purple Monster Fire". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Neon White Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Hunggate Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Montoya, Marisa (May 16, 2026). "Saturday wildfires: Updates on ongoing wildfires". KVII-TV. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  21. ↑ Williams, Nell (May 15, 2026). "Crews assess damage after Hunggate fire prompts evacuations near Canyon". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Shifty Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  23. ↑ "McBridge Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Crooked Crook Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Roman Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Cherokee Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Western Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Ox Bow Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Chainey Mountain Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Rita Blanca Unit 32 Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Comanche Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Stinky Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  33. ↑ "'We're doing the best we can': Amarillo officials provide update on Stinky Fire". KFDA News Channel 10. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Kress Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Getaway Pens Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Cusenbary Draw Fire". Watch Duty. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Rio Escondido Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Ross Fire Map". Watch Duty. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  39. ↑ Ortiz, Kathleen (August 25, 2026). "Ross Fire reaches 50,000 acres, destroys at least 5 structures in North Texas, officials say". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  40. ↑ "Ross Fire Update". Longhorn Council, Scouting America. August 25, 2026.
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