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Baird, Texas

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Baird census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79504. The Survey maps it on the Baird quadrangle. 1,479 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,722 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Baird within Callahan County

On record in Baird

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Baird fell from 1,623 to 1,479 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20001,623
20101,496-127 (-8%)
20201,479-17 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 9 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

230 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 230 fires within 5 miles of Baird between 2004 and 2020, burning about 3,392 acres in total. 7 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined106
Equipment and vehicle use40
Debris and open burning39
Railroad operations and maintenance20
Power generation/transmission/distribution17
Natural7
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 2011Railroad operations and maintenance10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceUPRR BAIRD
5 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceHIGHLAND STREET
4 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceIH20 & GUN ROAD
4 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service311 I-20 EAST
4 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS 1-20E 305
3 September 2015Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePRUET CR 248
26 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
24 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceI20 GRASS FIRES

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Callahan County

Storms near this place

60 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baird in 68 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 35 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 8 tornado, 6 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBaird$250,000The metal roof of the city hall building was picked up by the winds and landed 250 yards away. There was also wind damage to some nearby housing units. A few power lines were blown down.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindBaird$200,000A strong downburst of winds from a thunderstorm resulted in straight line wind damage across the town of Baird. These damaging thunderstorm winds uprooted large trees, blew down power lines and removed a few roofs from buildings. Most of the damage was blown to the north and northeast direction across the City of Baird. The damaging winds also damaged a feed mill in Baird.
May 1994Tornado (F1)Baird$50,000This tornado was reported from the same location as the one at 1715 CST and was much larger. Extensive damage to homes and businesses was reported.
May 1994Tornado (F0)Baird$50,000A brief touchdown was observed.
September 1996Thunderstorm WindBaird$25,000no account filed
February 1995Thunderstorm WindBaird$20,000A truck accident on Highway 36 just east of Highway 283 was caused by high winds.
June 1997Flash FloodBaird$10,000no account filed
March 2026Funnel CloudBaird-Public reported a funnel cloud via social media.
March 2026HailBaird-Law enforcement reported quarter sized hail.
March 2026HailBaird-Public reported half dollar sized hail.
June 2025HailBaird-Public report of half dollar sized hail in Baird.
June 2025HailBaird-An amateur radio operator reported golf ball size hail in Baird along I-20.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBaird-There was video on Twitter of of wind gusts of 60 mph.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBaird-There were trees blown down.
May 2021FloodBaird-Law enforcement officials reported multiple low water crossings with flowing water in Baird, and people were trapped in their vehicles.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindBaird-A report of telephone poles bent over and tree limbs on the roadway on U.S. Highway 283 north of Baird. The time of this report was estimated by radar.
February 2017Flash FloodBaird-Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused flooding about a mile north of Baird. This water flooded one home.
May 2016Flash FloodBaird-Several reports of water rescues were conducted in Callahan County as motorists attempted to drive into deep water. Some homes were partially flooded in Baird and a number of county roads were flooded. A few evacuations also took place.
March 2014HailBaird-A trained spotter reported nickel to quarter size hail covering Interstate 20. Some car windshields were reported cracked or broken.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindBaird-A gas station sign was damaged.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindBaird-A wind gust of 60 mph was reported.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBaird-A convenience store manager estimated thunderstorm winds in excess of 70 mph. He also reported some of the gas pump signs were blown away.
September 2012Flash FloodBaird-Law enforcement officials reported a few high water rescues along the service road to Interstate 20. This was near the exit to Oplin. In addition, several low water crossing were also flooded in the county.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Baird-A storm chaser photographed this tornado. The twister broke some mesquite tree limbs.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Baird-Several storm chasers reported this as a rope tornado that lasted about 3 minutes.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Baird-A storm chaser and trained storm spotter reported this tornado briefly touched down in an open field. It broke a few mesquite tree limbs.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindBaird-An estimated 69 MPH wind gust was reported in Baird.
May 2011HailBaird-This report was relayed to the National Weather Service by the Abilene Police Department.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Baird-A storm chaser reported a large multivortex tornado near U.S. Highway 283 near the Shackelford - Callahan County line. A person who lived near the area also saw this tornado.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBaird-Power poles were reported down in town.
May 2003Tornado (F1)Baird-An off duty National Weather Service employee reported this tornado. This tornado moved east and snapped and stripped a swath of mesquite trees, and damaged some fence. This tornado also destroyed an old wooden school building and a shed.
March 2002HailBaird-An NWS Cooperative observer reported hail up to the size of golf balls.
September 2001HailBaird-Large hail, a few up to the size of baseballs, was reported near Baird in Callahan County.
May 1994Tornado (F0)Baird-Storm spotters reported a tornado crossing Interstate 20 at Baird.
May 1994HailBaird-A brief touchdown was observed.
April 2023HailBaird-no account filed
May 2020HailBaird-no account filed
May 2015HailBaird-no account filed
May 2013HailBaird-no account filed
May 2013HailBaird-no account filed
October 2012HailBaird-no account filed
April 2011Funnel CloudBaird-no account filed
June 2009HailBaird-no account filed
June 2009HailBaird-no account filed
April 2007HailBaird-no account filed
May 2006HailBaird-no account filed
May 2006HailBaird-no account filed
June 2005HailBaird-no account filed
December 2004Thunderstorm WindBaird-no account filed
August 2004Flash FloodBaird-no account filed
June 2003HailBaird-no account filed
April 2002Thunderstorm WindBaird-no account filed
April 2002HailBaird-no account filed
May 2002HailBaird-no account filed
May 2002HailBaird-no account filed
September 2001HailBaird-no account filed
March 1999HailBaird-no account filed
March 1999HailBaird-no account filed
June 1998HailBaird-no account filed
July 1998HailBaird-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Callahan County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Jayell3.8 miles8
Clyde5.3 miles9
Belle Plain6.0 miles9
Admiral8.4 miles9
Eula9.6 miles14
Putnam10.8 miles9
Denton12.1 miles14
Rowden13.4 miles9

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BairdAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q803948The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1372371. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.