BlockBefore

Bracken, Texas

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the New Braunfels census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78266. The Survey maps it on the Schertz quadrangle.

Bracken within Comal County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

49 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Bracken between 2005 and 2018, burning about 180 acres in total. None 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/undetermined38
Debris and open burning7
Equipment and vehicle use2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSZFD111324
5 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined50 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSZFD111302
3 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceWEIDERSTEIN FIRE
15 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSZFD121381
9 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSZFD141296
4 August 2015Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBRUSH FIRE
23 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHANSON FIRE
21 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Comal County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Bracken: 14 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Perlite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
1604 Cement Plant and QuarryCement Rock, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Judson Road Perlite PlantPerliteProducer
Barrett Base QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Gifford Hill Ogden QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Dean Word Co Ackerman QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Midwestern QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducerLimestone
Ogden QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducerLimestone
Unnamed QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer1973
Beck Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gem Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerGravel, Sand

Every working recorded in Comal County

Storms near this place

13 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bracken in 13 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 7 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. 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
December 2002Thunderstorm WindBracken$50,000Power was knocked out over much of the county as tree limbs and trees were blown over along the southern half of the county.
May 2025HailBracken-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail northwest of Garden Ridge.
May 2025HailBracken-A thunderstorm produced dime to quarter size hail near Natural Bridge Caverns.
June 2025Flash FloodBracken-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain leading to flash flooding. A normally dry creek overflowed in Garden Ridge.
March 2024HailBracken-A thunderstorm produced penny size hail near Natural Bridge Caverns.
June 2023HailBracken-A thunderstorm storm produced quarter size hail in Garden Ridge.
October 2018Thunderstorm WindBracken-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that snapped the trunk of a Live Oak tree and damaged patio furniture in Garden Ridge.
September 2016Flash FloodBracken-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing low water crossings along Schoenthal Rd. near FM3009 near Bracken.
March 2007Flash FloodBracken-Between 2 and 3 inches of rain fell across Comal County from Canyon Lake southward to the Bracken area. Highest rain totals were near 5 inches at Smithson Valley. Flash flooding closed Purgatory Road and Rebecca Creek Road.
November 2004Tornado (F1)Bracken-A tornado struck near Garden Ridge along FM3009. Damage to the trophy oaks subdivision was very concentrated...with 40 or more trees snapped off or pulled out of the ground laid down in all directions. Some of the trees were large with diameters in excess of 12 inches. The tornado appears to have touched briefly along a path less than one mile long. A review of the damage suggested the tornado was approximately 200 yards wide. Homeowners where the damage occurred reported hearing only a brief noise as it struck. It dissipated near 2105CST and was rated F1 on the Fujita Scale.
June 2017HailBracken-no account filed
March 2005HailBracken-no account filed
April 2002HailBracken-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Comal 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
Garden Ridge1.9 miles11
Ogden3.7 miles11
Corbyn5.3 miles14
Comal5.7 miles14
Solms8.8 miles14
Dittlinger9.0 miles14
Jentsch Acres10.4 miles14
Bulverde East (historical)10.6 miles15

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1331170. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.