West Fork Fire, Moody, Texas — Map & Containment

West Fork Fire, Moody, Texas — NASA satellite

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

Key facts

Source: NIFC

LocationMcLennan County

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingExtreme

ComplexityType 5 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 21, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across private land in McLennan, Texas, the active West Fork Fire has expanded to 800 acres since igniting on September 21, 2026. Fueling the rapid spread of this Type 5 Incident are 2.5-foot tall grasses that feed extreme fire behavior, leaving the perimeter entirely uncontained at 0 percent.

SFS is leading the response to the blaze, which unfolds against a regional backdrop where the typical fire season runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader wildfire landscape shows 3,259,929 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that remains 41 percent below the two-decade average.