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Screenshot of a map showing the locations of the 10 largest wildfires in Texas’ recorded history.<\/p>\n
Mel Fronczek\/DMN<\/p>\n
Motorists drive through smoke from the Ross fire on Mineral Wells Highway on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, near Weatherford, Texas.<\/p>\n
El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Crews in North Texas are working overtime to contain the Ross fire <\/a>that has scorched an estimated 80,000 acres in the region. The fire is 12% contained as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fire burning<\/a> almost 100 miles west of Dallas has destroyed ranchland<\/a> and a beloved Boy Scout camp<\/a>. It has yet to reach the threshold to become one of Texas\u2019 largest fires, despite devastating thousands of acres.<\/p>\n Use the interactive map below to look at the largest wildfires in state history from Texas A&M records<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Having trouble viewing the map within this story? Try viewing it here<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n \n1: Smokehouse Creek fire (1,054,153 acres burned,\u00a0Feb. 2024)<\/p>\n Crews spent three weeks trying to extinguish the fire in the Texas Panhandle<\/a>. The blaze started in Hutchinson County but quickly spread to Roberts and Hemphill counties \u2014 even blowing into Northwestern Oklahoma. Two people were killed in the fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of cattle dead.<\/p>\n Related: What to know about the Texas wildfires burning thousands of acres<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 2: East Amarillo Complex fire (907,245 acres burned, Mar. 2006)\u00a0<\/p>\n This grass fire was propelled by strong winds and dry weather, according to NASA<\/a>, and killed 13 people. Unlike the Smokehouse Creek fire, this was a wildfire complex \u2014 a set of individual fires that burned close to one another and were managed together. According to CBS News, eight towns in North Texas were evacuated, with about 2,000 people forced to leave their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3: Big Country fire (366,000 acres burned, Mar. 1988)\u00a0<\/p>\n The Big Country fire burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Shackelford and Callahan County in west Central Texas. According to a 1988 report by Los Angles\u00a0Times, the fire destroyed mobile homes, oilfield equipment and closed roads. At the time of the fire, local officials said no residents were injured by the blaze.<\/p>\n Related: Ross fire in North Texas rages on. Here\u2019s where to donate and how to help<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 4:\u00a0Perryton fire (318,156 acres burned, Mar. 2017)\u00a0<\/p>\n The Perryton fire in Ochiltree County was triggered by downed power lines or sparks from a transformer, according to a report by the National Weather Service. <\/a>The fire quickly spread to Lipscomb and Hemphill counties in the Texas Panhandle. One person was killed in the blaze, according to Texas A&M records.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5:\u00a0Rockhouse fire (314,444 acres burned, April 2011)\u00a0<\/p>\n The record-breaking 2011 drought established ideal conditions for this fire in West Texas. Hundreds of fires burned throughout the state during the drought, according to NASA<\/a>, but the Rockhouse fire stood out for its extensive destruction. Officials reported the fire destroyed 20 to 40 homes and threatened the Fort Davis National Historic Site, a cavalry fort from 1845.<\/p>\n Related: Wildfire near Decatur burns 56 acres as hot, dry weather raises North Texas fire risk<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 6: Glass fire (220,000 acres burned,\u00a0Feb.\u00a02008)\u00a0<\/p>\n The Glass fire was the United States\u2019 largest recorded fire in 2008, according to a report from the National Interagency Coordination Center.<\/a> The fire burned across Sterling, Irion, and Tom Green counties, near San Angelo in West Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n 7:\u00a0Deaton Cole fire (175,000 acres burned, April 2011)\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas A&M researchers call April 2011 an “unprecedented” wildfire season<\/a> in Texas. Weeks after the destructive Rockhouse fire destroyed parts of West Texas, the\u00a0Deaton Cole fire sparked a few miles west of Ozona. It started as a brush and grass fire, according to a report by the National Interagency Coordination Center<\/a>, but quickly grew to burn hundreds of thousands of acres.\u00a0<\/p>\n 8: Cooper Mtn. Ranch fire (162,625 acres burned, April 2011)<\/p>\n The Cooper Mtn. Ranch fire in Central Texas was one of the six large fires<\/a> that burned in the state during 2011\u2019s wildfire season. The fire destroyed four homes, according to a report from NASA<\/a>. The agency found that the fires were stoked by high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation in Stonewall and Fisher counties.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Related: How environmental conditions are fueling the Ross wildfire in North Texas<\/a><\/p>\n 9: Wildcat fire (158,308 acres, April 2011)<\/p>\n The Wildcat fire threatened 400 homes immediately north of San Angelo \u2014 but only destroyed one, according to a report from NASA<\/a>. The fire burned for weeks, and the agency reported it was 98% contained by the start of May. The National Weather Service<\/a> reported that the fires largely affected Tom Green and Coke counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n 10: Windy Deuce fire (143,302 acres burned, Feb. 2024)<\/p>\n As the Smokehouse Creek fire ravaged the Texas Panhandle, firefighters also raced to quell the flames of the Windy Deuce fire in Moore County. The fire burned near the western edge of Lake Meredith, just west of the Smokehouse Creek fire,\u00a0according to NASA<\/a>. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a 2025 investigation into companies connected to the Windy Deuce and Smokehouse fires, filing a lawsuit against Xcel Energy for causing the Smokehouse Creek fire and alleging the company failed to keep utility poles clear.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Paxton negotiated an injunction with the company, which required Xcel to replace utility poles and conduct inspections of their sites around the Panhandle.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n