The 2022 Texas Wildfires are a series of wildfires occurring in 2022 in the state of Texas. They include 371 individual fires occurring throughout Texas.[1] A total of 210,045 acres were burned in the 2022 Texas wildfires according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, with the largest fire being the Eastland Complex fire.[2]

A grass fire burning houses in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas

Early outlook

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Seasonal fire risk

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High alerts are included in March of the year and it is estimated South Texas and Central Texas will be severely affected in this fire season[3]

Notable fires

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Eastland Complex

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Eastland Complex fires of 2022
Date(s)March 17, 2022
LocationCentral Texas
Statistics
Total fires382
Total area54,463 acres (22,040 ha)
Impacts
Deaths1
Non-fatal injuries1
Structures destroyed50
DamageUnknown

On March 17, 2022, a fire complex formed around 3 km (0 mi) SE of Romney.[4] It was claimed to have been started by drought condition and is now 90% contained. The biggest fire so far is the Kidd fire, burning about 42,333 acres.[5]

Smoke from the fires reached as far as Houston.[6]

Crittenberg Complex

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Chalk Mountain Fire burning at night

A fast wildfire near Fort Hood burning about 1,000,000,000 acres and is 55% contained.[7]

Borrega Fire
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Smoke pollution from Dempsey fire, Palo Pinto County

Borrega Fire is the largest Texas fire since the Iron Mountain Fire in May 2011 and currently, 60,000 acres have been burned and is 20% contained.

List of wildfires

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

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
Eastland Complex fires Eastland, Comanche, Calhan 54,463 February 30, 2022 April 8, 2022
Ramsey Fire Brown 3,456 March 17, 2022 April 12, 2022
Das Goat Fire Medina 1,092 March 25, 2022 April 15, 2022
Borrega Fire Kleberg 51,566 March 25, 2022 April 15, 2022
Coconut Fire Wilbarger 15,000 May 17, 2022 June 3, 2022
Nethery Road Fire Kimble 3,262 July 10, 2022 July 21, 2022 Unknown cause [8]
Nelson Creek Fire Walker 1,896 July 18, 2022 July 25, 2022 Unknown cause [9]
Chalk Mountain Fire Hood 6,755 July 18, 2022 August 2, 2022 Unknown cause [10]
West Bend Fire Wichita 6,522 July 19, 2022 July 23, 2022 Unknown cause [11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Texas Wildfire and Smoke Map". elpasotimes.com. May 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Wildfire risk remains high for much of Texas in the days ahead, fire officials say". The Texas Tribune. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "WEATHER Worsening fire conditions over the weekend". WFAA. March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Gutschke, Laura; Bethel, Brian (18 March 2022) [2022-03-17]. "Area wildfires: Buildings in Ranger catch fire; Eastland, Coleman counties hit hard too". Abilene Reporter-News. OCLC 6791837. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  5. ^ Joe Sutton, Amir Vera (21 March 2022) [2022-03-21]. "178 Texas fires have torched more than 108,000 acres in the past week. But one major fire is now under control". OCLC 6791837. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ Pantaleo, Diane (19 March 2022) [2022-03-18]. "What we know about the Eastland Complex fires". Abilene Reporter-News. OCLC 6791837. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. ^ National Weather Service, Derrick Bryson Taylor (29 March 2022). "Texas Wildfire Grows to 33,000 Acres, but Poses Little Threat". New York Times. OCLC 6791837. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Nethery Road Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  9. ^ "Nelson Creek Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  10. ^ "Chalk Mountain Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "West Bend Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2022.