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ATX PULSE 2/23-24/26 (free): Wildfire Risk Remains High // KXAN: 6 Homeless Campfires a Day // AISD Closing 10 Schools // ABIA Targets 12 New International Nonstops // Horns MBB Hosts #12 Florida Tonight
Everything you NEED TO KNOW about Austin.
Matt Mackowiak
February 24, 2026
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2026 - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026
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WEATHER
Today: H: 74° / L: 56°.
Wednesday: H: 89° / L: 61°.
Thursday: H: 87° / L: 58°.
Friday: H: 85° / L: 59°.
TOP NEWS
"Austin’s wildfire risk is high amid dry conditions. When will we see more rain?" Austin American-Statesman's Mary Wasson – Wildfire risk is high as Austin stays dry. When will we ever see rain?
South and Central Texas temperatures Tuesday afternoon will be about five to 10 degrees above average.
The beautiful weather across Texas this week comes to us courtesy of a ridge of high atmospheric pressure settling over the region.
While we enjoy the sunshine and calm weather, we’re keeping our friends and family in the northeastern United States in mind as they deal with a powerful nor’easter. The storm, which is triggering blizzard and winter storm warnings and snowfall totals of up to two feet along the coast.
In Texas, our main concern will be an elevated wildfire risk across much of the state by midweek.
Tuesday forecast: The chilly air from the weekend will stick around for one more morning. While we’re not expecting a widespread freeze like the one Monday morning in the Hill Country, a few low-lying valleys could still fall to near or below freezing — similar to what had happened at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which dropped to 28 degrees Monday morning.
"Multiple explosions,’ fires cause homeless camp concerns in Austin," KXAN’s Matt Grant – Jack Meymandi said it felt like the start of an earthquake.
“All of a sudden, I just felt this really loud explosion,” he recalled. “Like, I felt it. The whole apartment rocked.”
The Austin Fire Department described “multiple explosions” and 15-foot high flames sparked by “encampment activity” near Meymandi’s Tech Ridge apartment complex on Dec. 30, according to the incident report — one of hundreds of fires a KXAN investigation found likely connected to homeless encampments in recent months.
In this case, fire crews reported finding “several dozen” gas tanks littering the grassy area between the complex and an adjacent movie theater.
Just under three weeks later, in the early morning hours of Jan. 18, it happened again. The explosions and fires on both days were “a result of gas tanks” and “have been attributed to encampment activity,” an AFD spokesperson confirmed.
On a recent visit to the complex off I-35 and East Parmer Lane, we spotted piles of debris and remnants of an abandoned campsite.
Dec. 30 fire next to an Austin apartment complex and movie theater sparked by gas tanks and “encampment activity.” …
“When it causes danger like that, that’s when something needs to be addressed,” Meymandi said. “You know, get these people into a safer area.”
At least two of his neighbors, including Flo Austin, share those concerns — pointing to the amount of dead brush next to the property.
“I’m very concerned because it’s going to happen again,” Austin said. “We don’t want to be living in fear.”
Austin said she witnessed a third fire in the same area around New Year’s Day.
“The city, they got to do something. They have to do something,” she said, holding her small dog’s leash. “Because you’ve got people talking about moving.”
Hundreds of fires
KXAN Investigates requested AFD records showing responses that have intersected with homelessness.
In the past two months, firefighters responded to 430 grass, trash and dumpster fires potentially involving encampments, the records show.
Some descriptions reference “Unauthorized burning at homeless camp,” “Unattended campfire at homeless camp” and brush fires.
We requested records for the same timeframe, December and January — typically two of the coldest months for Austin — going back to 2021 and found a steady increase.
In 2021, crews responded to 98 fire incidents potentially involving people experiencing homelessness, according to AFD. In 2022, that number increased to 207. The following year it jumped to 305 and, in 2024, ticked up to 330.
That increase can partially be explained by a change in reporting policy in August 2023, AFD said, which “resulted in substantially more incidents getting flagged as potentially involving PEH,” or persons experiencing homelessness.
In recent months, firefighters have battled other fires believed to be connected to homeless encampments, including at a vacant hotel in central Austin off I-35 in October and at an abandoned east Austin auto body shop in December.
‘Resolve the encampment’
KXAN reached out to Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations, or HSO, in late January. The next day, the city department said it “was made aware of the encampment” near Meymandi and Austin’s apartments. It’s now coordinating with Austin Fire, Code Compliance and the city’s Housing Authority to “resolve the encampment,” which HSO notes is partially located on private property.
Remnants of a makeshift camp site following two recent Austin fires that AFD said were sparked by “encampment activity.” (KXAN …
“The City recognizes the most effective fire prevention strategy is access to housing and shelter,” a spokesperson for HSO said. “Outreach staff, and community partners, provide fire safety and heightened wildfire-risk guidance while continuing efforts to connect individuals to shelter and housing options.”
When KXAN visited the apartment complex, we did not see anyone in the immediate area where the fires occurred.
A blue 55-gallon steel drum lay on its side near what appeared to be tent fabric and other remnants of a makeshift campsite.
Wildfire risk ‘expected to increase’
This comes amid a warning last month that “wildfire activity across the state is expected to increase this winter and spring as above-normal vegetation dries and becomes highly flammable,” according to a social media post from the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Debris and dead brush at the site of two recent encampment-related fires. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant)
“As we like to say, nine of 10 fires are human-caused,” Forest Service spokesman Matthew Ford said.
Heavy rain last year led to above-average vegetation growth that dried out over the winter, according to Ford, now creating a risky climate for wildfires. Recently, officials warned of a “high-risk spring season.“
The majority of wildfires, he said, can be prevented.
“Any kind of propane tanks, we advise use away from any kind of structures,” Ford said. “As well as use them in an open area, away from any kind of brush.”
Austin police said it was not involved “in any of these incidents” and referred our questions to AFD, which was the “responding agency/lead investigators” in the Tech Ridge area fires.
(KXAN)
