South Central Texas will experience the “most extreme fire danger” in years today, the U.S. National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio (NWS) warns.
Dangerous, possibly historic, extreme fire-weather conditions are forecast across the Canyon Lake area.
A Red Flag Warning has been issued from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. A Wind Advisory is in effect across all of South Central Texas from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Very strong winds and low humidity will support the rapid spread and difficult suppression of any wildfires that may ignite.
“Most particularly we are concerned with an area from the Edwards Plateau over into the Texas Hill Country,” said Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the NWS. “That’s an area where we have an extremely critical fire-weather threat and this is actually the highest threat category we have only issued a couple of times this year and this is the first time that we have ever issued it that far east in Texas. So metro areas such as San Antonio and Austin are in the threat area.”
Sustained 30-40 mph winds with gusts of up to 50-60 mph are possible behind a “long-advertised” cold front that will move from west to east across the area, reaching the I-35 corridor between 6-8 a.m.
Texas A&M Forest Service Chief Jared Karns asks the public to take precautions. Ninety percent of wildfires are caused by people and their activities, meaning most are preventable.
Residents should discard cigarettes properly, keep vehicles off of dry grass, avoid activities with open flames or sparks, avoid power equipment that creates sparks, evacuate if fire/smoke heads their way, and to evacuate if ordered to do so by local officials.
Comal County is not under a burn ban but outdoor burning is banned under Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rules that prohibit burning when winds exceed 23 mph.
