Wildfires burn across Texas after high winds and fire danger Tuesday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Tuesday, a powerful cold front moved from north to south across Texas, first producing strong thunderstorms in the morning. The high winds followed. Paired with low humidity and dry soils across much of the state, there was a heightened wildfire risk.

Over the past two days, at least 24 wildfires ignited across Texas. By Wednesday afternoon, thirteen fires were still burning, with four having just started that day. ABC13 learned more about the wildfire that burned approximately 300 acres in Matagorda County on Tuesday afternoon.

ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith spoke to Mitch Thames, the Matagorda County PIO. He confirmed that this fire was likely started by a downed power line damaged by Tuesday's strong wind gusts. The fire began around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when wind gusts topped 50 mph. The fire burned for about two hours before volunteer fire crews contained it early Tuesday evening. No structures were damaged in that fire, but the flames got dangerously close to the community of Midfield.

There's a startling parallel between the wildfire in Matagorda County yesterday and recent fires of national interest. Both the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles earlier this year and the historic wildfire on the island of Maui in 2023 were also started by downed power lines.

Tuesday was a unique, but not rare, situation with the perfect combination of high winds and low humidity. That's why the wildfire danger across Texas was higher than normal.

While the current wildfire risk in Houston is low, it could change heading into spring. That's because drought conditions are expected to develop or get worse. Dry to moderate drought conditions are already present west of the Brazos River. With a drier-than-normal pattern expected this month, drought conditions are an increasing concern over the next few weeks.

The Keetch Byram Drought Index shows which region is most prone to drought conditions and/or wildfires. It calculates how much rain the ground needs to be fully saturated. That index shows that much of southeast Texas needs one to upwards of seven inches of rain to saturate soils.

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