West Fork Fire
The West Fork Fire was reported on September 21, 2026 in McLennan County, Texas and has burned 193 acres. It is 85 percent contained.
- Size
- 193 acres
- Contained
- 85%
- Discovered
- September 21, 2026
Map
No perimeter has been mapped for this fire; the map shows its point of origin. Point of origin 31.308, -97.311.
The incident
- Size
- 193 acres
- Containment
- 85%
- Discovered
- September 21, 2026 at 3:10 PM CDT
- Cause
- Undetermined
- County
- McLennan County
- State
- Texas
- Protecting agency
- SFS
- Jurisdiction
- SFS
- Land ownership at origin
- Private
- Incident management
- Type 5 Incident
- Primary fuel
- Tall Grass (2.5 feet)
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2026-TXTXS-268842
- IRWIN identifier
- D7F7F49F-24E8-467F-ACBE-6BC5EF634F88
Weather at the fire
- Wind up to 10 mph from the east-northeast
- Relative humidity as low as 40%
- High of 95°F
National Weather Service hourly forecast for the fire’s point of origin, next 24 hours.
Alerts in force
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches covering the fire's point of origin.
No Red Flag Warning or Fire Weather Watch is in force at the fire.
Smoke
NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts have not drawn smoke over the fire’s origin today.
NOAA’s smoke model forecasts near-surface smoke at the origin peaking at 1.3 µg/m³ around Wed, 6:00 PM CDT over the next 48 hours.
From the incident team
Posted on InciWeb, updated September 21, 2026.
The West Fork Fire in McLennan County started in the midafternoon on Monday, September 21, under elevated fire conditions. Texas A&M Forest Service was requested to provide assistance in the form of additional firefighters and heavy equipment at 3:10 pm and responded quickly. Texas A&M Forest Service is currently in unified command with local departments. Firefighters continue to fight the West Fork Fire with three bulldozers, numerous engines and several aircraft. Eight know structures are threatened and have been evacuated. There are five 1,500-foot-tall radio towers near the fire. Fire behavior was extreme with rapid growth due to wind conditions and showed low crowning in vegetation. Extremely high winds initially kept several firefighting aircraft grounded. Nearby thunderstorm cells produced strong outflow winds and lightning. Air tankers and a helicopter were eventually used to fight the fire. The County EOC evacuated Tower Drive to Spring Valley Drive in Moody. Officials urge the public to avoid the area, do not travel near the incident, and do not interfere with responding emergency vehicles and apparatus. Acreage is an estimate and will not be accurate until mapping is done at a later time. Smoke conditions make an acreage estimate difficult. Update, Monday, September 21, 6:50 pm: Forward progression has been stopped, Single Engine Air Tankers boxed off the head of the fire. The fire stopped at a plowed field on the left flank at the head. Helicopters made effective water drops. A Strike Team is engaged on the right flank. Evacuations are being lifted.
Nearby
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Incident record from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS), as the incident’s managers report it; last updated September 21, 2026 at 9:54 PM CDT. Identifier 2026-TXTXS-268842.