Emergency wildfire grants target Texoma volunteer crews

The Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation opened an emergency grant cycle for volunteer fire departments helping fight ongoing wildfires, offering assistance to crews serving Texoma communities. National Weather Service records document unusually hot, dry conditions in western Texoma during August 2026.

The foundation’s announcement documents assistance for firefighting needs. The available records do not establish how much wildfire work increased for volunteer departments across Texoma or in Cooke County.

Cooke County’s website announced a burn ban beginning Aug. 10, 2026. That summer announcement does not confirm whether a ban remains in effect.

The county’s separate Feb. 9 burning order explained the public-safety basis for restrictions: commissioners determined that outdoor burning would aggravate an existing hazard. The order allowed specified enclosed cooking and certain regulated activities.

Neighboring Denton County reported moderate drought and a slight increase in wildfire frequency when it imposed a burn ban later in August. Officials identified dead or dormant vegetation and hot, windy weather with low humidity as sources of danger.

Wichita Falls recorded an average daily high of about 105 degrees that month and substantially less rain than normal, according to the National Weather Service.

| Wichita Falls weather | August 2026 | August normal, 1991–2020 |

|---|---:|---:|

| Average daily high | 105.0°F | 96.6°F |

| Rainfall | 0.29 inches | 2.53 inches |

NOAA identifies dried vegetation combined with hot, dry and windy conditions as factors that make large wildfires more likely. Vegetation produced during a wet spring can provide fuel for larger fires once it dries, the agency explains.

Rapidly developing drought increased wildfire frequency and intensity across Texas in August, according to Texas A&M Forest Service. Its response figures cover the state; they do not measure calls handled by Texoma volunteer departments.

| Forest Service responses statewide | August 2026 |

|---|---:|

| Fires | 313 |

| Acres burned | 121,774 |

State equipment assistance also reached Cooke County before the summer wildfire period. The Forest Service’s Feb. 13 grant awards listed $25,000 for Valley View VFD to obtain personal protective equipment.

Volunteer departments constitute most registered Texas fire departments, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. The registry percentages count departments, rather than individual firefighters.

| Registered Texas departments | Share |

|---|---:|

| Volunteer | 69.9% |

| Mostly volunteer | 11.7% |

Equipment needs preceded the summer fires. In its announcement about expanded assistance, the Forest Service reported that some applicants had waited years for funding. The agency said rising equipment costs prompted changes to reimbursement amounts.