Austin Fire Department outlines wildfire strategy, stresses home hardening and evacuation planning

Carrie Stewart, division chief for the Austin Fire Department (AFD) Wildfire Division, told the City Council Public Safety Committee on April 7 that Austin must pursue a three-part approach — fire adapted communities, fire‑resilient landscapes and effective response — to reduce risk and improve recovery from wildfires.

Stewart said the department is updating Austin’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and an evacuation plan, expanding training, and developing a situational‑awareness platform for public safety partners. "We want balance between all three of those sections within our office and across the city," Stewart said.

The committee heard that most local structure ignitions in wildland‑urban interface events are caused by embers, not direct flame contact. Stewart said, "90% of structure ignitions from a wildland event are from the ember cast," and that emphasis on home hardening and the city’s WUI (wildland‑urban interface) code should be a priority because hardening reduces a home's ignitability.

Why it matters: City officials said Austin should expect multiple, simultaneous wildfire starts on receptive days and that local incidents, even if smaller than some Western fires, can still…