Governor Greg Abbott on Mar 5th, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the state’s request for Fire Management Assistance Grants for the Welder Fire in San Patricio County and the Duke Fire in Bexar County.
 
“The State of Texas and emergency responders continue to work around-the-clock to fight the wildfires in Texas and keep our communities safe,” said Governor Abbott. “FEMA’s approval of Texas’ grant assistance request for San Patricio and Bexar counties will provide crucial financial assistance to help ease the cost of fighting the Welder and Duke fires. I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management, local emergency management personnel, and our brave firefighters for their tireless work to combat these fires and protect their fellow Texans. Texans are strongly urged to heed the guidance of state and local officials and first responders and take all necessary precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.”
 
The approval of these Fire Management Assistance Grants makes the State of Texas eligible for 75 percent reimbursement from the federal government for costs associated with fighting the Welder and Duke fires. Fire Management Assistance Grants are available to states and local jurisdictions for the mitigation, management, and control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands, which threaten such destruction and would constitute a major disaster.
 
Yesterday, state emergency responders supported 41 new wildfire starts that burned more than 4,400 acres.
 
At the direction of Governor Abbott, the following state emergency response resources remain engaged to support local wildfire response efforts:

• Texas A&M Forest Service (Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System): More than 250 state and local firefighters, support personnel, fire engines, bulldozers, and motor graders; 33 federally-contracted firefighting aircraft, including 4 large air tankers, 15 single-engine air tankers for retardant drops, 4 air attack platforms for surveillance and spotting, 2 super scoopers for water drops, 4 helicopters with firefighting capability, 3 fire bosses for aerial guidance, and an air support module for aerial guidance
• Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM): The State of Texas Incident Management Team to support deployed emergency response resources across the state
• Texas National Guard: Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters with firefighting capability
• Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Wildfire Support Packages consisting of medics, ambulances, and all-terrain vehicles
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents as well as AgriLife Extension Agents to support agricultural and livestock needs
• Texas Animal Health Commission: Coordinating animal resource needs
• Texas Department of Agriculture: Coordinating agricultural resource needs
• Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel monitoring road conditions
• Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordination with utility providers
• Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring
• Texas Health and Human Services Commission: Personnel to provide information on available services through the 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network
• Texas Department of Information Resources: Monitoring technology infrastructure

Texans can locate wildfire resources, including wildfire tips and information on how to report damage, by visiting the Texas Disaster Portal at disaster.texas.gov.
 
Texans whose homes or businesses sustained wildfire damage are also encouraged to report it using TDEM’s online damage survey. The Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage surveys can be filled out in multiple languages at damage.tdem.texas.gov by selecting “2025 Wildfire Incidents.” The information shared through this voluntary tool helps emergency management teams assess the damage and aids officials in connecting impacted Texans with available resources. The iSTAT tool is not a substitute for reporting damages to your insurance provider and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance.
 
Texans are urged to continue taking all measures to prevent wildfires, including making an emergency plan, avoiding activities that cause sparks, and following instructions from local officials. Texans can visit TexasReady.gov for wildfire tips, tfsweb.tamu.edu for safety information, and tdem.texas.gov to report wildfire damages.
 
Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities and protect Texans from wildfire impacts, including:

• Increasing the Readiness Level of the State Emergency Operations Center and adding 33 counties to the state’s wildfire disaster declaration, now totaling 236 counties.
• Deploying additional state emergency response resources ahead of extremely critical wildfire danger.
• Activating state wildfire response resources ahead of wildfire danger.