Texas Wildfires (2024)

Assessment Period: February 26 - March 10, 2024

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Disaster Monitoring Team

March 29, 2024

This photo depicts a drone view of grasslands burning from the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Roberts County, Texas, on February 28, 2024. Source: REUTERS / Nathan Frandino. Photo Website: https://www.reuters.com/pictures/texas-smokehouse-creek-fire-consumes-500000-acres-2024-02-28/EGW5B7YSCZMJHEE5XJVBD2Q27E/

Event Summary

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Texas, United States (2024)

Beginning February 26, emergency alerts were issued for wildfires with potential to expand ( Texas A&M Forest Service ).

Among the multiple wildfires was the Smokehouse Creek wildfire, the largest in Texas history with over one million acres of land burned ( Texas A&M Forest Service ).

February 26, 2024: Observed Fire Danger

Alternative Text: The map in this image is the Texas Fire Danger map depicting observed fire danger on February 26, 2024, which is the date that alerts were initially broadcasted in Texas for the wildfires in late February. This map illustrates how fire danger ratings of “High” and “Very High” were assigned to different areas in northern Texas (also known as the “Texas panhandle”) on this date. — The Texas Fire Danger (TFD) map is produced using the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS). Weather information is provided by remote, automated weather stations and then used as an input to the Weather Information Management System (WIMS). The NFDRS processor in WIMS produces a fire danger rating based on fuels, weather, and topography.

This photo depicts ranchers moving the remains of cattle killed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire out of burned ranch land on March 1, 2024 in Skellytown, Texas. Source: AP Photo/Julio Cortez. Photo website: https://apnews.com/article/texas-panhandle-wildfires-dead-cattle-2f9dde9ef57f554be1a984ca4ac0ec8f?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

Wildfire Areas

This map depicts the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Current Interagency Fire Perimeters in northern Texas as of March 7.

Explore: Click on the "+" symbol before the wildfire name below to zoom in on its area in the map. Click the "x" symbol to return to the original map extent.

As of March 13, the Smokehouse Creek Fire covered an estimated 1,058,482 acres, while the Windy Deuce Fire was estimated at 144,045 acres.

This image contains instructions for using the map tools such as how to maximize the map display, launch the map legend, return to the default map extent, and zoom in and out of the map.

Visualize Wildfire Extents from Sentinel-2 Imagery

Vegetation Health

The below Sentinel-2 composite Color Infrared (CIR) images were derived for two separate time periods to compare the health of vegetation in the area before and after the wildfires began. When comparing these pre and post event "False Color" images, there are clear indications of stressed vegetation within the WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters dataset obtained on March 7, 2024.

This pre-event Sentinel-2 composite Color Infrared (CIR) image covers the time period of January 1, 2024 through February 25, 2024, which was before the wildfires occurred. This “False Color” Image is used here as an indicator of vegetation health before the wildfire incident. — **First Image:** Pre-Event Sentinel-2 composite (Jan 1 – Feb 25, 2024); **Second Image:** Post-Event Sentinel-2 composite (Feb 26 – Mar 10, 2024) with WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters dataset from Mar 7, 2024

This post-event Sentinel-2 composite Color Infrared (CIR) image covers the time period of February 26, 2024 through March 10, 2024, which was after the wildfires commenced. This “False Color” Image is used here as an indicator of vegetation health after the wildfire incident. This image shows clear indications of stressed vegetation within the WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters data downloaded on March 7, 2024. — **First Image:** Pre-Event Sentinel-2 composite (Jan 1 – Feb 25, 2024); **Second Image:** Post-Event Sentinel-2 composite (Feb 26 – Mar 10, 2024) with WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters dataset from Mar 7, 2024

Burn Extents and Severity

The below images depict Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) calculations derived from Sentinel-2 Multispectral imagery for two separate time periods (before and after the wildfires began) to evaluate the burn extent and severity of the wildfires. When comparing these pre and post event NBR images, there are clear indications of scorched landcover within the WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters dataset obtained on March 7, 2024.

This pre-event image depicts a Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) calculation derived from Sentinel-2 Multispectral imagery covering the time period of January 1, 2024 through February 25, which was before the wildfires occurred. NBR is used to identify burned areas and provide a measure of burn severity. This image is used here as a baseline to compare with another (post-event) image. — **First Image:** Pre-Event NBR (Jan 1 – Feb 25, 2024); **Second Image:** Post-Event NBR (Feb 26 – Mar 10, 2024)

This post-event image depicts a Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) calculation derived from Sentinel-2 Multispectral imagery covering the time period of January 1, 2024 through February 25, which was before the wildfires occurred. NBR is used to identify burned areas and provide a measure of burn severity. This image shows clear indications of burned areas mirroring the WFIGS Current Interagency Fire Perimeters data evaluated on March 7, 2024. — **First Image:** Pre-Event NBR (Jan 1 – Feb 25, 2024); **Second Image:** Post-Event NBR (Feb 26 – Mar 10, 2024)

Crop Impact Assessment

Assessing Impact to Agriculture

NASS produced an assessment on the extent of potential damage to agricultural land and activities in Texas from the event.

Using wildfire perimeters acquired on March 7, 2024, and the 2023 Cropland Data Layer, NASS identified agricultural areas possibly affected by the wildfires.

Samples of burned areas were then visually confirmed using Maxar high resolution imagery, and Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral (MSI) imagery.

Explore: Click on the crop fields in the map inside of the wildfire extents to discover their type as classified in the 2023 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) , or view the legend below in relation to the map:

This map legend was developed based on the crop types in the 2023 Cropland Data Layer that are within the WFIGS Current Interagency Wildfire Perimeters downloaded on March 7, 2024. There are twenty-nine different crop field types in the map legend that include the following categories: Grassland / Pasture, Winter Wheat, Sorghum, Fallow / Idle Cropland, Cotton, Other Hay / Non-Alfalfa, Triticale, Corn, Alfalfa, Double Crop Winter Wheat / Sorghum, Millet, Double Crop Winter Wheat / Cotton, Rye, Peanuts, Pecans, Oats, Double Crop Winter Wheat / Corn, Switchgrass, Double Crop Triticale / Corn, Sunflower, Double Crop Oats / Corn, Sod / Grass Seed, Soybeans, Barley, Peas, Cantaloupes, Other Crops, Grapes, Rice. — **Map Legend:** Crop Field Types inside Wildfire Areas

Greatest Impacts

The largest potential impact to agriculture within the wildfire extents was to Grassland / Pasture areas, followed by Winter Wheat, Sorghum, Other Crops, Cotton, and Corn.

Crop Types with Largest Acreage Inside Wildfire Areas (Compared to Statewide Totals)

This data table shows that the largest potential impact to agriculture within the wildfire extents was to Grassland / Pasture areas (447,944 acres), followed by Winter Wheat (8,624 acres), Sorghum (5,175 acres), Other Crops (2,113 acres), Cotton (1,978 acres), and Corn (803 acres). — **Values in "Total Acres Across State" were obtained from official NASS estimates:** 2022 Census of Agriculture (Grassland/Pasture, Other Crops); 2023 Surveys (Winter Wheat, Sorghum, Cotton, Corn)

However, while Grassland / Pasture areas experienced the greatest potential impact within the wildfire extents (447,944 acres), this represents less than 1% of all surveyed Grassland / Pasture areas across Texas.

The other types of agriculture with the largest potential acreage affected within the wildfire perimeters (following Grassland / Pasture areas) such as Sorghum, Winter Wheat, Cotton, Corn, and Other Crops represented even lower percentages of all surveyed crops in each category across the state.

Percentage of Total Acres in Texas Potentially Impacted by the Wildfires (By Crop Type)

This data table illustrates that while Grassland / Pasture areas experienced the greatest potential impact within the wildfire extents, this represents less than 1% of all surveyed Grassland / Pasture areas across Texas. The other types of agriculture with the largest potential acreage affected within the wildfire perimeters (following Grassland / Pasture areas), such as Sorghum, Winter Wheat, Cotton, Corn, and Other Crops, represented even lower percentages of all surveyed crops in each category across the state. — “Percent of Total Acres Impacted” by “Crop Class” was calculated based on how acreage by crop type within the wildfire perimeters compared to Official NASS Estimates (2022 Census of Agriculture, 2023 NASS Surveys) of the total acres surveyed across the state for each crop type.

Explore Damage

Drag the arrows using the Swipe Tool in the graphic to view damaged crop fields from the Smokehouse Creek Fire.

This WorldView-2 satellite image captured on January 22, 2023 shows what these Winter Wheat / Sorghum Fields in Roberts County looked like before the Smokehouse Creek Fire. — ***Roberts County:*** *Crop Fields (Before / After Smokehouse Creek Wildfire).* ***Image (Left)*** *- Jan 22, 2023 (© 2023 Maxar);* ***Image (Right):*** *Mar 2, 2024 (© 2024 Maxar)*

This WorldView-3 satellite image captured on March2, 2024 shows what these Winter Wheat / Sorghum Fields in Roberts County looked like after the Smokehouse Creek Fire. — ***Roberts County:*** *Crop Fields (Before / After Smokehouse Creek Wildfire).* ***Image (Left)*** *- Jan 22, 2023 (© 2023 Maxar);* ***Image (Right):*** *Mar 2, 2024 (© 2024 Maxar)*

Explore the map below to view additional images highlighting damage to crop fields from the Smokehouse Creek wildfire...

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