Woodson Creek Fire, Throckmorton, 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

Location11 miles southeast of Throckmorton, TX

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingActiveGroup Torching — Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

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

After burning for 75 days through private land in Throckmorton County, Texas, the Woodson Creek Fire has officially ended. The incident, which began on August 14, 2026, and was managed as a Type 4 Incident by SFS, consumed 4,629 acres of tall grass reaching heights of 2.5 feet located 11 miles southeast of Throckmorton.

Over the course of its activity, the fire expanded at an approximate rate of 62 acres per day, exhibiting active fire behavior that included group torching before reaching 90 percent containment. Personnel strength for the response ultimately stood at 48 individuals working on the ground.

This event occurred within the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context of 2026 shows a total of 3,457,486 hectares burned so far, placing the figure 37 percent below the two-decade average.