PlainHazard

Texas wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 200 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,491 wildfire records in Texas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 63 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 12, 2006 wildfire in Gray County: 12 deaths, 8 injuries and $140 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 2 records. Texas ranks 2nd of 48 states and territories by count and 11th of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Texas, 1996 to 2026

Wildfire records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,4911996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
63average
Deaths
39193 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.4Bas filed
Busiest year
2011457 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are wildfire records common in Texas?

Texas averages about 63 wildfire records a year since 2000, 2nd of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (457). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Texas records 57 wildfire records since 1996, 11th of 48 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 441
  2. 2. New Jersey 241
  3. 3. Puerto Rico 137
  4. 4. California 102
  5. 5. Florida 91
  6. 6. Oklahoma 88
  7. 7. Delaware 87
  8. 8. Washington 82
  9. 9. Oregon 77
  10. 10. Colorado 64
  11. 11. Texas 57

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Texas have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Potter County leads Texas: 53 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 58.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Potter County has the most wildfire records (60 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Potter County 58.3 (60)
  2. Hutchinson County 53.0 (52)
  3. Carson County 41.3 (43)
  4. Wheeler County 38.3 (38)
  5. Randall County 31.8 (34)
  6. Armstrong County 28.6 (30)
  7. Aransas County 27.8 (7)
  8. Oldham County 26.7 (41)
  9. Gray County 24.8 (27)
  10. Moore County 24.5 (22)
  11. Brooks County 24.4 (28)
  12. Lipscomb County 23.6 (25)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is fire season in Texas?

Texas's wildfire records by month. The busiest month is March (238 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 121 · Feb 173 · Mar 238 · Apr 231 · May 89 · Jun 89 · Jul 108 · Aug 201 · Sep 121 · Oct 30 · Nov 35 · Dec 55 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Texas?

Texas: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-03-12 WildfireGray County · forecast zone Gray One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The wildfire known as the Borger wildfire started four miles southeast of Borger on the Burnett (6666) Ranch property. This wildfire was caused by downed power lines due to the strong gradient southwesterly winds. The wildfire burned four hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred and forty-nine acres. Twenty ... 12 8 $140M
2017-03-06 WildfireGray County · forecast zone Gray The Lefors East Wildfire began in Gray County about six miles southeast of Lefors Texas around 1500CST. The wildfire spread east into Wheeler County where an evacuation was declared for the towns of Mobeetie and Wheeler. An evacuation was also declared for the town of Lefors, however three people were killed as they ... 3 0 –
2005-12-27 Callahan County Fire · WildfireCallahan County · forecast zone Callahan The "Cross Roads" Fire started just to the west of the small Community of Cross Plains on the afternoon of 27th. This fire was fanned to the east rather rapidly by west winds gusting to near 40 MPH. The fire moved into the community of Cross Plains rather quickly consuming several homes and bussinesses. The town was ... 2 16 $17M
2011-09-04 WildfireGregg County · forecast zone Gregg Strong sustained winds and wind gusts, in association with Tropical Storm Lee which made landfall across the south central and southeast Louisiana gulf coast, were felt across all of Northeast Texas on September 4th. These winds, along with very low humidity values and exceptional drought conditions across Northeast ... 2 2 $3.0M
2009-04-09 WildfireMontague County · forecast zone Montague One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Dry and windy conditions resulted in explosive fire conditions in north Texas on this day. Some wildfires were rekindled fires that had been smoldering from earlier in the week. These wildfires burned tens of thousands of acres, multiple structures, and killed cattle. Two fatalities occurred in Stoenburg as a couple ... 2 2 $11M
2024-02-26 Smokehouse Creek Fire · WildfireHemphill County · forecast zone Hemphill One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places, 2024-02-26 to 2024-02-27; the totals are the episode's. A good growing season through spring/summer 2023 led to decent fuel loading, compared to the previous couple of years, before vegetation went into winter dormancy. Dormant fuels and two weeks without precipitation leading into February 26th provided a very combustible environment when combined with abnormally warm ... 2 0 $292M
2011-09-04 Bastrop County Fire Complex · WildfireBastrop County · forecast zone Bastrop The Bastrop County Complex Wildfire started on September 4 behind Tropical Storm Lee and a cold front that brought strong northerly winds. The peak wind at Austin Bergstrom International Airport was 36 mph. The fire was not completely contained at the end of the month and had burned 34,068 acres. It destroyed 1669 ... 2 0 $328M
2005-12-27 Kennedale Fire · WildfireCooke County · forecast zone Cooke One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Numerous grass fires were started across north Texas due to low humidities, strong winds, and the ongoing drought. A grass fire burned 6,000 acres in Callisburg, Cooke County when high winds caused electrical lines to touch and spark. One woman was killed when she fell and broke her hip fighting the fire. Firefighters ... 1 10 $8.8M
2011-04-15 East Sidwynicks Fire · WildfireEastland County · forecast zone Eastland One storm episode: 2 records, 2011-04-15 to 2011-04-16; the totals are the episode's. Several wildfires broke out in the western counties of North Texas from April 15th-19th. It took several days to control these fires. They burned over 18000 acres of land. The largest wildfire was the Bryson Complex in western Jack and eastern Young County. Fires in Eastland County killed one firefighter and burned 6 ... 1 6 $1.2M
2022-03-16 Wheat Field Fire and Kidd Fire · WildfireEastland County · forecast zone Eastland One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2022-03-16 to 2022-03-20; the totals are the episode's. Several wildfires burned through the western counties of the Fort Worth CWA in mid March. Counties that were impacted by fires were: Comanche, Mills, Erath, Hood, Eastland, and Montague. The largest complex of wildfires was the Eastland Complex that burned over 54,000 acres, killed one person, and consisted of 7 ... 1 4 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest wildfire records in Texas

Texas: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-09-04 Bastrop County Fire Complex · WildfireBastrop County · forecast zone Bastrop 2 0 $328M
2024-02-26 Smokehouse Creek Fire · WildfireHemphill County · forecast zone Hemphill One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places, 2024-02-26 to 2024-02-27; the totals are the episode's. 2 0 $292M
2011-04-13 Hohertz Fire · WildfireStephens County · forecast zone Stephens One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $158M
2006-03-12 WildfireGray County · forecast zone Gray One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 12 8 $140M
2006-04-11 WildfireHemphill County · forecast zone Hemphill 0 2 $132M
2011-02-27 Tanglewood Fire Complex · WildfireRandall County · forecast zone Randall 0 0 $33M
2017-03-06 WildfireOchiltree County · forecast zone Ochiltree 1 2 $30M
2006-06-15 WildfireOldham County · forecast zone Oldham 0 0 $18M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are wildfire records becoming more frequent in Texas?

Texas's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Wildfires: Texas and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeTexasUnited StatesTexas's share
1996-99105102.0%
2000s3522,99711.7%
2010s8003,65021.9%
2020-263292,43613.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Texas

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-05-18 WildfireSwisher County · forecast zone Swisher 0 0 –
2026-05-17 WildfireOldham County · forecast zone Oldham 0 0 –
2026-05-17 WildfirePotter County · forecast zone Potter 0 0 –
2026-05-15 WildfireDallam County · forecast zone Dallam 0 0 –
2026-05-15 WildfireRandall County · forecast zone Randall County 0 0 –
2026-05-15 WildfireRandall County · forecast zone Randall County 0 0 –
2026-05-14 WildfireHartley County · forecast zone Hartley 0 0 –
2026-05-14 WildfirePotter County · forecast zone Potter 0 0 –
2026-05-14 WildfireCarson County · forecast zone Carson 0 0 –
2026-05-14 WildfireOldham County · forecast zone Oldham 0 0 –
2026-05-14 WildfireRandall County · forecast zone Randall County 0 0 –
2026-04-27 WildfirePotter County · forecast zone Potter 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for wildfire records in Texas

FEMA has declared 273 disasters in Texas for wildfire, counting its incident type and declarations that name fire in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 3 were major disasters, the latest on September 15, 2026.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2026-09-15FM-5677Hydra Fire1
2026-08-25FM-5675Ross Fire2
2026-05-18FM-5634Stinky Fire1
2026-05-14FM-5633Hunggate Fire1
2026-03-15FM-5625Corner Pocket Fire1
2026-02-18FM-56198 Ball Fire2
2025-03-20FM-5573Pauline Road Fire2
2025-03-18FM-5571Double S Fire1
2025-03-15FM-5570Crabapple Fire1
2025-03-14FM-5555Rest Area Fire2
2025-03-05FM-5553Duke Fire2
2025-03-04FM-5552Welder Fire1

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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