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Tag Archives: wildfire

Austin ranks fifth in nation for cities most at risk for wildfires

According to a CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report conducted in 2024, Austin ranks fifth in the nation for cities most at risk for wildfires. The top four cities are all located in California. David Bock, senior wildfire mitigation specialist at the…

Fire • By Hunter Simmons • Feb 25, 2025

Proposals to address wildfire dangers face opposition

Two items on today’s City Council agenda related to wildfire prevention have raised alarms among at least two community groups – the Save Our Springs Alliance and Community Not Commodity. The agenda indicates that the first item would allocate nearly…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Jan 30, 2025

Austin ranks 5th in major cities vulnerable to wildfires

Those who were in Austin in 2011 remember the tragic wildfires that hit Bastrop, Steiner Ranch and Spicewood that summer. The fires collectively burned through thousands of acres of land and destroyed over a thousand homes. “You can still drive…

Fire • By Katy McAfee, KUT News • Jan 17, 2025

City honors AFD’s work training firefighters for wildland-urban fires

Throughout her time on the dais, District 10 City Council Member Alison Alter has stressed the need for the city to understand and prepare to fight wildfires in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI, which is the area between unoccupied land…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Jul 23, 2024

AFD narrows its wildfire preparedness focus on Eastern Crescent

Ahead of national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 4, the Public Safety Commission this week heard an update on how Austin is faring with its own community readiness efforts. The good news is that Austin leads the state in…

Fire • By Amy Smith • Apr 4, 2024

Council OKs contract for new AI wildfire tool

City Council on Thursday approved negotiation and execution of a contract for what Austin Energy describes as a powerful new tool to aid the utility in wildfire detection and response. The utility says it will use Pano AI technology to…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Oct 6, 2023

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City continues to work on wildfire mitigation strategies

The public may not have noticed, but Austin-Travis County had 963 different brush and grass fire alarms in September, Assistant Fire Chief Andre de la Reza told members of the city’s Public Safety Commission on Monday. The department was able…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Oct 5, 2023

Watson, Brown declare local state of emergency over wildfire threat

Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency in response to the threat of wildfires. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott said that wildfires in 191 Texas counties “pose an imminent threat…

Public Safety • By Jo Clifton • Aug 16, 2023

Here's what you should do if a wildfire threatens your home

Lee esta historia en español Dry grass, wind and relatively low humidity mean a fire can spread easily and be difficult to control. All it takes is a spark from a metal lawnmower blade hitting a rock, a loose chain…

Fire • By Sangita Menon, KUT • Aug 11, 2023

Austin continues to address wildfire risk through training, community outreach

The Austin Fire Department delivered an update on the city’s wildfire prevention efforts to the Public Safety Commission on Monday. The updates are mandated in the 2019 overhaul, which occurred after Austin was ranked among the top five most at-risk…

Fire • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 4, 2023

City departments continue refining wildfire evacuation plan

Last week, City Council’s Mobility Committee learned about the regional response and evacuation plan that would go into effect in the event of a wildfire. “Wildfires know no boundaries and looking at what we’re doing in terms of coordination, we’re…

Fire • By Nina Hernandez • Oct 11, 2022

Travis County preps for centennial fire prevention week

According to a proclamation unanimously approved by the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, the week of Oct. 9-15 is the 100th annual fire prevention week in Travis County. The theme of the centennial? “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”…

Fire • By Seth Smalley • Oct 6, 2022

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