Windy season is here and it’s been fairly dry lately so Texas, as well as southern New Mexico and the El Paso area are under a high fire danger.
Southern New Mexico, (Ruidoso, Cloudcroft, etc), are especially prone to wild fires. They’ve had really bad ones over the last couple of years and 2026 brings more conditions favorable to wildfires.
In fact, the dry conditions along with the high winds of spring have got a big chunk of Texas facing very high fire dangers with some areas already classified as “critical”.
According to a press release from Texas A & M Forest Services:
Beginning midweek, strong high pressure aloft will reduce wind speeds but promote abnormally warm and dry conditions across Texas.
Temperatures in the low to mid-90s are possible by the end of the week across the western Plains, which could lead to very high rates of drying in surface fuels and lower the threshold of fire weather needed to produce wildfire activity or fires with high resistance to control.
What Does High Fire Danger Mean For El Paso?
Pretty much the same thing it does for everywhere else. We do have an advantage though in the fact that El Paso, and the Borderland in general, isn’t heavily forested. While a lightning strike or a dozen other things could spark a fire here, we simply don’t have a ton of trees.
Wildfires In El Paso
A wildfire lit up the entire northeast face of the Franklin Mountains in the late 80’s. It burned for days and looked really cool at night … although the smoke has peeps coughing like crazy and caused breathing issues for some … but it did zero damage. The most recent wildfire in El Paso was in 2016.
READ MORE: El Paso’s Most Destructive Fires
All the scrub brush burns close to the ground and if it does approach homes or other structures; folks can (generally) see it coming with enough time to put it out. During that fire in the 80’s, the fire was up too high for ground based fire fighters so they literally just sat and watched it; making sure it didn’t get too close to anything important.
Still though, this is a critical issue in other areas so pray that the weather changes for the better, lowering fire danger levels all over.
Most Destructive Wildfires in Texas HistoryAs a massive wildfire recently broke out in Texas panhandle. I decided to look up the most destructive wildfires in our state’s history. All info taken from Texas A&M Forest Service.
Gallery Credit: Stryker
How to Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke
If you’re in Utica, Herkimer, or anywhere across the Mohawk Valley, here’s how to protect your lungs (and your sanity) on smoky days:
Gallery Credit: Unsplash/TSM