Rudd Fire, Texas (2026) — Map & Containment

This fire in numbersDay 2

155Hectares383Acres2Days burning

Containment40%

Started on Sep 22, 2026. 60% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

85Active451Hotspots 48h1.2 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Quick facts

Location: Schleicher County
Complexity: Type 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
How it's behaving: Moderate
Jurisdiction: SFS · 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.

Burning across 383 acres of private land in Schleicher, Texas, the active Rudd Fire has reached 40 percent containment under the management of a Type 5 Incident team from the SFS. Although the fire behavior is currently moderate, the incident adds to a broader national landscape where 3,270,726 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 40 percent below the two-decade average.

First reported on September 22, 2026, the wildfire progresses through a region where the typical fire season spans from June to October.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Texas for 1 day. So far it has affected roughly 383 acres — about 1.5 km². Crews have contained 40% of the perimeter, but most of the fire line is still open.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.