BLOG: Wildfires spark in Central Texas amid extreme fire danger
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Crews are battling wildfires in Central Texas Tuesday as the region is experiencing a day of 'potentially historic' fire conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Although rain swept through parts of Central Texas in the morning, high winds, dry air and dry brush and trees on the ground are contributing to the risk of fire in the area.
On Tuesday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service put most of our area in an extreme (5 out of 5) wildfire risk, with red flag warnings in effect through the night.
Latest forecast
Wildfire tracker
Look up power outages
Evacuation checklist
5:30 p.m.
The Austin Community College Elgin campus said it is closing early due to a power outage.
'Only agriculture classes on the campus will continue on their regular schedules. All other classes, work, and activities at Elgin are canceled for the remainder of the day. No other campuses are affected,' a spokesperson for ACC said in a statement.
ACC said updates will be posted to the ACC website and the district's social media pages.
5:20 p.m.
As high winds soar in Central Texas, KXAN continues tracking multiple wildfires across Central Texas. Our Sarah Al-Shaikh, who was reporting from Manor, said firefighters are continuing to monitor a brush fire on Blue Goose Road.
4:40 p.m.
KXAN keeps track of wildfires in Texas. More than 300 acres have burned in wildfires across Central Texas so far in 2025, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
MAP: More than 300 acres have burned in Central Texas wildfires in 2025
We'll keep them updated as new information becomes available. Fires that are still uncontained are red on the map in the article.
4:35 p.m.
The Texas A&M Forest Service is responding to a fire in Blanco County, the agency said on social media around 4:20 p.m.
The fire, now being called the Klett Fire, is estimated at 100 acres and is 0% contained.
3:44 p.m.
The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management said on social media there were at least eight fires reported in the county Tuesday.
'Fortunately, most have been contained thanks to the diligent work of our first responders,' the office said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New program could give Austin's 1st responders more help during emergencies
AUSTIN (KXAN) — When disaster strikes, first responders and their resources can become stretched thin. A new pilot program could help alleviate that pressure through community volunteer efforts. During a severe storm at the end of May, the Austin Fire Department responded to more than 700 emergency calls during the first hours of the severe weather. One person died and others were injured in a series of water rescues during those storms. AFD: 700+ emergency calls made during first few hours of severe weather Wednesday Agencies hope a new pilot program that trains volunteers in emergency preparedness and response will ultimately save lives. The city of Austin's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) said it's launching the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) pilot program this summer. CERT programs offer volunteer training that first responders can rely on during disasters, according to HSEM. These programs are in all 50 states and have expanded to include specialized programs for teenagers, college campuses and workplaces. The three Austin CERT basic courses this summer will focus on fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations, shelter management, team organization and disaster preparedness. People who complete the course and training exercise will receive a certificate and CERT kit, which includes a number of preparedness and response tools and items, and a CERT helmet and vest to identify volunteers on-site during response activities, according to HSEM. The launch of the CERT pilot was made possible through a grant, originally written and submitted by HSEM staffer Cindy Hood. HSEM said Hood died after a battle with cancer, and the pilot program is dedicated in her memory. CERT classes will be offered three times this summer as part of the pilot program. Details can be found at The basic classes include 24 hours of instruction over multiple days. HSEM asks that people only sign up if they can commit to finishing the course. Registrants must have a FEMA Student Identification Number (FEMA SID). If you don't already have one, you can register to get a FEMA SID online. Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register HERE Monday-Thursday, 1-7 p.m. Register HERE Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register HERE HSEM said participants who complete the courses and exercises will get a certificate and CERT kit, which includes preparedness and response tools, a CERT helmet and a volunteer vest to be worn during response activities. Although not required, HSEM said students are encouraged to take the free, online FEMA Independent Study IS-317: Introduction to CERT course, which will provide some more background to CERT and examples of what CERT volunteers can do during emergencies, HSEM said. Local first responder agencies have been facing struggles with staffing for the last several years. Some Austin-area first responder agencies have reported this year that they're finally slowly recovering from staffing shortages. The Austin Police Department's new chief, Lisa Davis, told KXAN in April that things were going in the right direction in terms of staffing, and she expected vacancy rates to drop significantly over the next few years. A city audit released that month tracked vacancy rates and strategies from 2020 through 2024. During that time, the vacancy rate increased from 7.4% to 18%. Davis said she expected vacancy rates to drop significantly over the next few years. APD hopeful about staffing despite audit claiming ineffective recruitment practices Austin-Travis County EMS Chief of Staff Wesley Hopkins also told KXAN in April that vacancy rates within that department were the best they've been in years. However, later that month, in a document obtained by KXAN, ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz said that the agency continues 'to innovate and challenge the status quo of EMS deployment' but that its current mode of operations are 'not sustainable.' Austin-Travis EMS temporary pilot program could free up ambulances 'The department has become increasingly dependent on the use of overtime, on-call pay, and calling employees into work on their days off. As the department approaches full staffing, this model is not sustainable,' he wrote. In the document, he said that a temporary program would be piloted to alleviate pressure on emergency services. The program had ATCEMS start using more 'single paramedic responder vehicles' instead of ambulances on most calls. Single responder vehicles are faster than an ambulance, but can't transport patients. 'I am excited to see Austin HSEM offering advanced emergency preparedness training like CERT to the public,' HSEM Director Jim Redick said in a press release. 'A prepared community is a resilient community. CERT is another way for us to connect with the public and help them ready themselves and their neighborhoods for disaster.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
NOAA Weather Radio down for a couple of days. Here's how to keep on top of Central Texas weather
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It acts like a radio station, but it doesn't play music. Instead, NOAA Weather Radio dispenses daily weather information including current conditions, local forecasts and weather synopses. It also sends out weather alerts in the event of a storm. From now through Wednesday the NOAA Weather Radio serving the Austin/San Antonio area will be off the air because it's doing a software update to the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, or AWIPS. This will happen from June 9-11, and people can stay weather-aware during this time is to keep up with KXAN. AWIPS is used by meteorologists at the National Weather Service to communicate and display meteorological data that assists forecasters to make accurate predictions of the weather and to dispense rapid warnings. The updates being done early this week are to fix those pesky bugs that sometimes affect computers, add new features, and infrastructure improvements that allow the system to do those accurate forecasts. Why you should get a weather radio So, how can you still get those reliable messages from the National Weather Service? Forecast operations will be handled during these three days by the Corpus Christi National Weather Service office. This is being done to minimize any possible service interruptions. More importantly, it won't affect how you get important weather information from the KXAN First Warning Weather Team. There are no interruptions that affect how we impart weather information to you. You can still rely on our team of meteorologists to give you accurate forecasts and any advisories, watches and/or warnings during these times since we are expecting a few days of showers and thunderstorms. And, as always, our KXAN Weather App is always a source of weather information should you need it during times when are not doing on-air weathercasts. It and include hourly and 7-day forecasts, plus radar and links to other weather resources on our site. The Austin/San Antonio weather service office itself will remain open and staffed so they will continue taking partner and public phone calls and perform any additional functions that can be completed without AWIPS. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Water flow hits ‘lowest' levels in 100 years in Hill Country rivers feeding Canyon Lake
COMAL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Despite rain in recent weeks, water supplies in the Texas Hill Country are in a tight spot. Last month, the Edwards Aquifer briefly moved to stage five drought restrictions after water levels dropped 33 feet below average in one well. The declaration comes ahead of what is expected to be a hotter and drier than normal summer. At Canyon Lake in Comal County, things are looking rough. 'The total flow over the last five years is the lowest river levels we've seen in the Hill Country since record keeping began over 100 years ago,' said Charlie Hickman, executive manager of engineering with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority. Recent rain filled Canyon Lake two to three inches. The lake is currently 45% full. Water from the lake is used by cities along the I-35 corridor, including San Marcos, Buda and Kyle. 'We've actually only seen the flows get up high enough to get into a mode where you can refill the lake 34 days only since 2022,' Hickman said. In that same time period, no water had flowed into the lake for 260 days. 'If you have these declining inflows, you know that's not just a measure of meteorological drought, but also what we're seeing underground,' said Marisa Bruno, water program manager with the Hill Country Alliance. She said many of the streams that feed Canyon Lake are spring fed. Even when we do see rain, the soil is too dry for that water to reach the aquifers that feed these springs. 'We need to get into a period where we have, you know, well above average rainfall for a longer period of time to get some relief from the drought,' Hickman said. While the Highland Lakes get their water from streams and rivers near Fredericksburg, Canyon Lake relies on watersheds closer to Kerrville. 'We've been making minimum releases for water supply for a few years now, and unless we get some relief and see the the lake refill, that's the same type of release as we anticipate making this summer,' Hickman said. Hickman said that with the current water in the lake, they are in a good place to endure this summer and potentially another drought. Canyon Lake is not the only lake dealing with the drought. Lake Buchanan is 11 feet below the average, while Lake Travis is 31 feet below average. Lake Buchanan is around 60% full, while Lake Travis is 44% full. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
