Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown on Friday urged Austin-area residents to take wildfire risk seriously and to participate in new planning and outreach efforts after local officials declared a disaster on Oct. 20 because of heightened wildfire danger.

The officials said the city and county are advancing two planning initiatives — an all-hazards protective action plan and an updated community wildfire protection plan — and invited public comment at a virtual engagement meeting set for Nov. 19. "Austin ranks fifth in the nation for the number of homes at risk for wildfire," Mayor Kirk Watson said, urging neighborhood groups and homeowners associations to request presentations through readycentraltexas.org.

The nut graf: City and county leaders described the initiatives as part of a coordinated strategy to map hazards, clarify interagency roles, improve evacuation planning and strengthen eligibility for state and federal mitigation funds. Officials emphasized early firefighting and prevention as key to keeping small ignitions from becoming large wildfires and asked residents to sign up for local alerting tools and follow burn bans.

Watson outlined "No Ember November," a monthlong campaign of outreach and community events focused on defensible space and home hardening, and announced Austin will host the Wildfire Preparedness USA 2025 conference and participate in local events such as a Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Discovery Day. He urged community groups to host presentations and pointed residents to atxwildfirehub.com for risk information and readycentraltexas.org to request outreach.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the county recently directed staff to update the community wildfire protection plan, noting the guidance for such plans "was established through the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003." He said the plan will assess and map hazards and exposures, identify priorities through public engagement, clarify coordination across agencies and help secure state and federal funding for risk-reduction projects. Brown announced a virtual public meeting on Nov. 19 and additional online feedback opportunities.

Emergency managers described new, hazard-specific annexes to local emergency operations plans. Jim Redick, director of Austin Emergency Management, said the annexes explain how notifications, evacuations and sheltering decisions would be made and stressed that planners are "writing [the plans] with the community." He described a unified approach across fire, law enforcement, EMS, public works and partners such as the Red Cross and CapMetro.

Nick Perkins, fire chief for Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 (Pflugerville Fire Department), emphasized homeowner measures and local programs to make properties more survivable. "Nine out of 10 wildfires are caused by human activity," Perkins said, and he promoted a local Flame Initiative in eastern Travis County for home-hardening steps and public education.

Officials described Starflight helicopter assets that can deliver water quickly and stressed that interjurisdictional coordination helped keep recent small fires from becoming larger incidents. When asked about the recent 20-acre Southeast Austin fire, officials said that cause remains under investigation and no determination was announced during the event.

The panel explained how alerting would work in an incident. Officials said evacuation points and strategy are "situation dependent" and determined by on-scene responders. Jim Redick and other staff described the Everbridge system and the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)/Wireless Emergency Alerts. They said IPAWS/Wireless Emergency Alerts are sent based on cell-tower location and reach visitors without subscription, while warncentraltexas.org (warncentraltexas.org) and Everbridge provide subscription-based, continuous incident updates and assembly-point information; officials urged residents to register for warncentraltexas.org.

Speakers repeatedly reminded the public to obey local burn bans and avoid activities that create sparks; Judge Brown said at least one recent fire was linked to a burn-ban violation. Officials said planning and outreach are year-round priorities despite the "No Ember November" campaign.

The event closed with an offer to take questions from the media. A separate question about the city manager's proposed budget drew a brief response from Watson describing an upcoming series of council work sessions and a request for a disciplined, modest approach to any changes.

Officials provided web resources for residents seeking more information: readycentraltexas.org for presentations and outreach, atxwildfirehub.com for risk checks and warncentraltexas.org for incident alerts.