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
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
Texas and Pacific Railway Depotlisted 2012
Population over time
3 figuresBaird 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,623 | |
| 2010 | 1,496 | -127 (-8%) |
| 2020 | 1,479 | -17 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1931 USGS Baird quadrangle1:125000
- 1932 USGS Baird quadrangle1:125000
- 1954 USGS Abilene quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Abilene quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Baird quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Abilene quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
230 since 2004Regional 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/undetermined | 106 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 40 |
| Debris and open burning | 39 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 20 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 17 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | UPRR BAIRD |
| 5 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | HIGHLAND STREET |
| 4 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | IH20 & GUN ROAD |
| 4 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 311 I-20 EAST |
| 4 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS 1-20E 305 |
| 3 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | PRUET CR 248 |
| 26 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 24 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | I20 GRASS FIRES |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 68 shownRegional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | $250,000 | The 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 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | $200,000 | A 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 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Baird | $50,000 | This 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 1994 | Tornado (F0) | Baird | $50,000 | A brief touchdown was observed. |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | $25,000 | no account filed |
| February 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | $20,000 | A truck accident on Highway 36 just east of Highway 283 was caused by high winds. |
| June 1997 | Flash Flood | Baird | $10,000 | no account filed |
| March 2026 | Funnel Cloud | Baird | - | Public reported a funnel cloud via social media. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Baird | - | Law enforcement reported quarter sized hail. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Baird | - | Public reported half dollar sized hail. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Baird | - | Public report of half dollar sized hail in Baird. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Baird | - | An amateur radio operator reported golf ball size hail in Baird along I-20. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | There was video on Twitter of of wind gusts of 60 mph. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | There were trees blown down. |
| May 2021 | Flood | Baird | - | Law enforcement officials reported multiple low water crossings with flowing water in Baird, and people were trapped in their vehicles. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | 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 2017 | Flash Flood | Baird | - | Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused flooding about a mile north of Baird. This water flooded one home. |
| May 2016 | Flash Flood | Baird | - | 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 2014 | Hail | Baird | - | A trained spotter reported nickel to quarter size hail covering Interstate 20. Some car windshields were reported cracked or broken. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | A gas station sign was damaged. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | A wind gust of 60 mph was reported. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | 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 2012 | Flash Flood | Baird | - | 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 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Baird | - | A storm chaser photographed this tornado. The twister broke some mesquite tree limbs. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Baird | - | Several storm chasers reported this as a rope tornado that lasted about 3 minutes. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (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 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | An estimated 69 MPH wind gust was reported in Baird. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Baird | - | This report was relayed to the National Weather Service by the Abilene Police Department. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | Power poles were reported down in town. |
| May 2003 | Tornado (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 2002 | Hail | Baird | - | An NWS Cooperative observer reported hail up to the size of golf balls. |
| September 2001 | Hail | Baird | - | Large hail, a few up to the size of baseballs, was reported near Baird in Callahan County. |
| May 1994 | Tornado (F0) | Baird | - | Storm spotters reported a tornado crossing Interstate 20 at Baird. |
| May 1994 | Hail | Baird | - | A brief touchdown was observed. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2020 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| October 2012 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Funnel Cloud | Baird | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| December 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Baird | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baird | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| March 1999 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| March 1999 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Baird | - | no account filed |
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.
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 Baird | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q803948 | The 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.





