Texas Lawmakers Gave $630 million to Fight Wildfires, But Another Big Ask is Coming

At least 90,000 acres burned. More than two million gallons of water and half-a-million gallons of fire retardant dropped. The Ross Fire in Jack and Palo Pinto Counties is still going strong nearly two weeks after the human-caused blaze ignited. It comes just as The Texas A&M Forest Service, the state agency behind wildfire response, is in the process of spending $630 million lawmakers provided in 2025 for “game changer” upgrades, including aircraft that will coordinate aerial firefighting, helicopters that can carry hundreds of gallons of water and large air tankers to drop the retardant. But the Ross Fire proves there is never enough. And in this episode of Y’all-itics, you’ll learn why next year, they’ll ask lawmakers for even more; this time focused on humans instead of equipment.

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Jared Karns, Division Director for Fire & Emergency Response/Texas A&M Forest Service