Travis County ESD 5 / Manchaca Fire Rescue

05/19/2026

Manchaca Fire Rescue / Travis County ESD 5 is one of 13 Emergency Services Districts serving Travis County residents. Manchaca Fire Rescue began in 1968 as an all-volunteer fire department. Since 2015, we have been a fully paid, tax-funded political subdivision; a first responder organization, responding to over 1,500 incidents per year, covering the southernmost portion of Travis County, between I-35 and 45SW Toll, and from Slaughter Lane to the Hays County line. Click here for the 2025 Annual Travis County ESD report: https://canva.link/3iwjmydz7o4p4bb

05/13/2026

**ALERT** between now and May 22nd from 9a to 4p daily, Brodie Lane will be closed in various sections from FM 1626 to Slaughter for repaving.

Expect delays.

04/24/2026

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at a house fire that had a tragic outcome. An important safety message that isn't stated often enough: always shut the doors inside the home at night before you go to sleep. Doors provide critical protection and prevent fire, smoke, and superheated gases from spreading throughout the home. This gives occupants extra seconds to escape a house fire. Working smoke alarms are equally important. There should be a working smoke alarm in each bedroom and one in the hallway outside the bedrooms. In a standard house, you typically have less than 2 minutes to escape the home in the event of a fire inside the home. Smoke alarms typically activate within 30 seconds of a fire starting. This gives you up to 90 seconds to escape. The fire's growth can be slowed when doors inside the home are closed.

https://www.youtube.com/live/_NasjrQd3yE

04/07/2026

Travis County has lifted its burn ban. Burning is authorized with a permit. For residents within TCESD 5, receive your FREE annual permit at https://tcesd5.org/fire-prevention-fire-code-permits/

03/31/2026

Join us for a public forum and Q&A for the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) currently being worked on for Travis County and City of Austin residents. Wednesday, April 8th from 6p-8p at the Early College cafeteria at 4715 Ross Road in SE Travis County.

03/15/2026

**RED FLAG WARNING** The National Weather Service in Austin/San Antonio has issued a Red Flag Warning from Sunday afternoon through Monday evening for wind and low relative humidity.
WINDS.: West 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 35 mph Sunday afternoon becoming North 20 to 35 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph Sunday evening into Sunday night.
Any fire that develops will catch and spread rapidly. A burn ban is in effect for Travis County. All outdoor burning is prohibited.

03/13/2026

**BURN BAN REMAINS IN EFFECT** Travis County remains in a burn ban. All outdoor burning is prohibited. Not enough rain has fallen over the past week to change the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) in Travis County. The high KBDI remains over 600 in Travis County; over 575 indicates drought and higher fire danger.

03/02/2026

TCESD5/Manchaca Fire/Rescue crews assisting on a fire in 114acre fire in Sutton County as part of the Texas Instrate Fire Mutual Aid System. Our team provided the water tender for the strike team and deployed our 3000gallon portable dump tank and provided water shuttle operations.

03/02/2026

Former Manchaca Firefighter, Johnny Carino recently passed away. Johnny (Johnny Carino's Italian restaurants) was one of our volunteer firefighters, loved cooking, and helping the community. Chief Barron and Chef Carino did a segment on Johnny's cooking show "Break Me Off a Piece of That" on fire safety in the home that was shown on PBS stations in Texas. Rest In Peace Johnny!!

02/21/2026

Alert. *RED FLAG WARNING * today!

A Red Flag Warning is in effect today from 10a to 9p due to wind gusts up to 30 mph and low relative humidity. A burn ban also remains in effect for all of Travis County. All outdoor burning continues to be prohibited.

🚩 RED FLAG WARNING – Saturday, Feb. 21 (10 AM – 9 PM) 🚩

Critical fire weather conditions are expected across our area on Saturday. The US National Weather Service Austin-San Antonio Texas has issued a Red Flag Warning due to:

🔥 Strong winds
🔥 Low humidity
🔥 Warm temperatures

⚠️ What This Means:
Any fire that starts could spread rapidly and become difficult to control.

🚫 Avoid outdoor burning.
🚫 Do not discard ci******es outside.
🚫 Avoid activities that create sparks (welding, grinding, dragging chains).

Stay weather aware and follow trusted local sources for updates.