Wildfire season is in full swing. And due to Texas’ ongoing drought, the state remains at exceptional risk for wildfires.
Wildfires spring up quickly and spread unexpectedly – making real-time information important. Twitter is an important resource for wildfire updates. And Facebook is an information clearinghouse for area residents in times of disaster.
KUT News has created a list of relevant Twitter feeds, Facebook pages and websites covering Central Texas wildfire news and emergency preparedness.
Twitter (Subscribe to our Texas Wildfires list):
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio @NWSSanAntonio: National Weather Service office for Central Texas, including Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country.
Texas A&M Forest Service @TXForestService: Texas’ premier forestry agency, featuring tools, information and updates regarding fires in Texas.
Central Texas Red Cross @CenTexRedCross: Official Red Cross chapter serving 48 Texas counties.
FEMA Region 6 @femaregion6: Account for FEMA region serving Texas.
Texas Storm Chasers @TxStormChasers: Regularly updated weather news from a group of meteorologists and storm chasers.
Texas Wildfires @Texas_wildfires: Quick updates on current wildfires; includes links to articles with more information on Texas wildfires.
Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management @AustinHSEM: News and emergency notifications, via the City of Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Austin Fire Dept. @AustinFireDept: Austin area fire and other emergency notices, updated frequently.
Travis County Emergency Services @TravisCountyES: Updates and photos on current fires and other emergencies in Travis County.
Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management @BastropCntyOEM: Official twitter account of Bastrop, Texas emergency management team.
Bastrop County Emergency Services Dist. 1 @BastropCntyESD1: Bastrop County fire, rescue and first responder services.
Guadalupe County Office of Emergency Management @GuadalupeOEM: Twitter account of Dan Kinsey, coordinator for the Guadalupe County OEM.
Hays County Sheriffs Office @HaysSheriff: San Marcos-based sheriff of Hays County.
Manchaca Fire-Rescue @ManchacaFire: Account for Manchaca-based ESD #5.
Manor - Emergency Services Dist. 12 @Traviscoesd12: Manor, Texas-based fire and rescue.
New Braunfels Community Emergency Response Team @NBCERT: Support team for New Braunfels Office of Emergency Management.
Pedernales Fire Dept. @pedernales_fire: Spicewood, Texas-based Travis County ESD #8.
Westlake Fire Dept. @WestlakeFD: Westlake (ESD #9) fire department account.
Williamson County Office of Emergency Management @PreparingWilCo: Official feed for Williamson emergency management team.
Ralph Fisk @FiskCG: Austin-based disaster management consultant.
Mackenzie Kelly @mkelly007: Austin-based blogger tweeting public safety and emergency management information.
Anna Tangredi @disasterlady: Volunteer agency liaison for the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Dispatch Demon @DispatchDemon: San Antonio-based account, sharing fire information and dispatch data.
Facebook (A curated list of actively-managed Facebook pages):
- Disaster Ready Austin
- Williamson County Office of Emergency Management
- Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management
- Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 1
- Manchaca Fire Rescue
- Oak Hill Fire Department
- Pedernales Fire Department
- Travis County ESD 12 (Manor)
- Lake Travis Fire Rescue
- US National Weather Service Austin-San Antonio Texas
Websites:
This comprehensive website includes several regularly updated features:
- Current Texas Wildfire situations
- Predictive services, including daily fire danger and outdoor burn ban maps,
- Fire and wildfire disaster education
Also developed by the Texas A&M Forest Service, this site includes a scientific wildfire risk assessment portal based on Forest Service data.
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Disaster Information
Part of the Texas Extension Disaster Education Network, this page contains resources on wildfire prevention, preparedness, recovery and more.
City of Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM)
A clearinghouse for Austin public safety initiatives, the HSEM site contains data on active Austin fire incidents, Austin Energy power outages and more.
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio
Official site for the regional NWS office.
Travis County Emergency Service Districts
Links to the 14 emergency service districts providing fire service in Travis County.
Prepared.ly is a digital app aimed at getting Austinities ready in case of wildfire. The app, which was created in partnership with the City of Austin and Code for America, assigns users with different tasks related to fire safety and preparedness and uses notifications to keep users on top of things. Users can create and share tasks with neighbors and track their progress compared to others.
Have any additional links, or comments or suggestions? Leave them in the comment section below.
