Arrowhead Fire, Henrietta, Texas

True view Fire view

⟷

True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location10 miles southeast of Wichita Falls, TX

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingModerateCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Torching — Whole trees flaring up like torches.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionSFS · Private land

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

The story so far

Summary written on Sep 16, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across private land in Clay, Texas, the active Arrowhead Fire is situated 10 miles southeast of Wichita Falls. Over its two days of burning since starting on September 14, 2026, the incident has averaged a daily growth of approximately 398 acres per day, encompassing a total size of 795 acres. Satellites have registered three heat detections near the perimeter over the past 48 hours, while response efforts are supported by 44 personnel under a Type 4 Incident management structure led by a Type 4 IC from SFS.

Fuel conditions on the ground feature tall grass standing 2.5 feet high, fueling fire behavior characterized as active, spotting, and torching. Despite these conditions, containment has reached 97 percent.

This event unfolds within a wider context where 3,226,886 hectares have burned nationally so far in 2026, tracking 41% below the two-decade average. This activity falls squarely within the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October.