Deep East Texas Burn Bans – Angelina, Polk and Trinity Counties Are First

It's pretty obvious that the beginning of 2026 has been pretty dry for Deep East Texas. One look at Lake Sam Rayburn will tell you all you need to know about that. Even the most recent rain wasn't enough to hold off the drought conditions.

Now, as those conditions have continued AND the wind speeds have picked up, burn bans have been issued in most Texas counties, including several of the Deep East Texas counties.

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Burn Bans Across the State of Texas

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, as of February 24th, there are 164 counties in Texas that have active outdoor burn bans. That's almost 65% of the entire state, considering that there are 254 counties in all. These bans have been ordered by each individual county's judge and/or their commissioners' court.

The densest groups of burn bans are located in the panhandle, the Hill Country and West Texas, but there are bans all across the state.

Burn Bans in Deep East Texas

East Texas and Deep East Texas are the areas that don't have dense groupings of counties with burn bans, but there are still several that are active. The three Deep East Texas counties that have already issued burn bans are below:

• Angelina
• Polk
• Trinity

READ MORE: Can Lake Sam Rayburn Recover from this?

As of right now, these are the only three counties in our area that have active burn bans. However, with the lack of rain, and the increased wind speeds, it's probably a good idea avoid outdoor burning, even if your county isn't under a ban. Considering that it looks like we won't be getting a decent bit of rain for the foreseeable future, I wouldn't be surprised to see more, if not all, of the remaining Deep East Texas counties issue burn bans soon.