Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to raise the readiness level of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to Level II, indicating an escalated response as critical wildfire conditions are expected in western Texas starting today.
“Texas is taking action to strengthen wildfire preparedness and protection across our great state,” said Governor Abbott. “I have directed the strategic placement of personnel and resources to equip our first responders with the tools they need to act swiftly in high-risk areas to save lives and protect critical infrastructure. I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management, our local leaders, and first responders for their efforts to protect Texans from the threat of wildfire.”
The Texas A&M Forest Service forecasts that much of West Texas and the High Plains will face elevated or critical fire weather through Thursday. The most significant risks are anticipated today and tomorrow due to strong winds, dry fuels, and above-normal temperatures. These factors may cause blowing dust, hazardous travel conditions, and difficulties for responders managing new fires. Conditions could spread eastward later in the week before easing after a cold front Thursday night.
In response, TDEM has asked representatives from multiple agencies—including transportation, health services, agriculture, public safety, utility regulation, animal health, environmental quality, information resources, voluntary organizations such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army—to report to the State Operations Center.
Additional wildfire response resources have also been mobilized under Governor Abbott’s direction. These include more than 500 firefighters from state, local, and out-of-state agencies; over 150 pieces of heavy equipment; more than 25 federally contracted firefighting aircraft; incident management teams; medical support packages; helicopters with firefighting capability; road monitoring personnel; patrol officers for roadway assistance; disaster assessment agents for agricultural needs; power outage coordination teams; natural gas supply monitors; air and water quality monitors; information service providers via 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network; technology infrastructure monitors; and school district needs assessors.
These measures supplement resources activated over the weekend as part of ongoing support for local wildfire responses.
Texans are advised to avoid activities that could spark fires, prepare emergency plans and kits, and follow guidance from local officials. Wildfire safety tips can be found at TexasReady.gov or tfsweb.tamu.edu. General preparedness information is available at tdem.texas.gov/prepare.
The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott operates statewide from its main offices in Austin at the State Insurance Building. Since his election in 2014 Greg Abbott has led efforts focused on job creation, economic opportunity, education enhancement, individual liberties protection, parental empowerment in schooling decisions, and southern border security [source]. Under his leadership the office contributed to record employment levels in Texas [source], earned recognition including TIME’s list of 100 Most Influential People in 2024 [source], exercised authority statewide [source], and delivered services throughout Texas [source].
