Travis County and Austin urge residents to prepare as wildfire risk rises

Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson joined county commissioners, fire chiefs and emergency-management officials at a joint news conference in Austin to mark Wildfire Awareness Month and urge residents to prepare for a hotter, drier wildfire season.

The officials said the region’s growing wildland-urban interface and recent fires underscore the need for household preparedness. "The choices you make now could save your home, your family, and your neighbors," Judge Andy Brown said, urging residents to create defensible space and prepare evacuation kits.

City and county leaders emphasized why the topic matters. Mayor Kirk Watson said the city’s recently updated wildland-urban-interface (WUI) map now covers roughly 51% of Austin’s habitable land, up from about 38% nearly a decade ago, increasing the number of homes considered at risk. "We’re seeing hotter summers, longer droughts, and more frequent windy days," Watson said, linking local trends to intensifying weather patterns.

Fire officials described specific steps residents can take. David Wilson,…