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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 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.
- 1953 USGS Schertz quadrangle1:24000
- 1954 USGS San Antonio quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS San Antonio quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Schertz quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS New Braunfels quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS New Braunfels quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1992 USGS Schertz quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
49 since 2005Regional 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/undetermined | 38 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SZFD111324 |
| 5 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SZFD111302 |
| 3 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | WEIDERSTEIN FIRE |
| 15 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SZFD121381 |
| 9 August 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SZFD141296 |
| 4 August 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | BRUSH FIRE |
| 23 August 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HANSON FIRE |
| 21 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1604 Cement Plant and Quarry | Cement Rock, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Judson Road Perlite Plant | Perlite | Producer | ||
| Barrett Base Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Gifford Hill Ogden Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Dean Word Co Ackerman Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | ||
| Midwestern Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | Limestone | |
| Ogden Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | Limestone | |
| Unnamed Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | 1973 | |
| Beck Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gem Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Gravel, Sand |
Storms near this place
13 since 2002Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bracken | $50,000 | Power was knocked out over much of the county as tree limbs and trees were blown over along the southern half of the county. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Bracken | - | A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail northwest of Garden Ridge. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Bracken | - | A thunderstorm produced dime to quarter size hail near Natural Bridge Caverns. |
| June 2025 | Flash Flood | Bracken | - | Thunderstorms produced heavy rain leading to flash flooding. A normally dry creek overflowed in Garden Ridge. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Bracken | - | A thunderstorm produced penny size hail near Natural Bridge Caverns. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Bracken | - | A thunderstorm storm produced quarter size hail in Garden Ridge. |
| October 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bracken | - | 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 2016 | Flash Flood | Bracken | - | Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing low water crossings along Schoenthal Rd. near FM3009 near Bracken. |
| March 2007 | Flash Flood | Bracken | - | 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 2004 | Tornado (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 2017 | Hail | Bracken | - | no account filed |
| March 2005 | Hail | Bracken | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Bracken | - | 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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Ridge | 1.9 miles | 11 | |
| Ogden | 3.7 miles | 11 | |
| Corbyn | 5.3 miles | 14 | |
| Comal | 5.7 miles | 14 | |
| Solms | 8.8 miles | 14 | |
| Dittlinger | 9.0 miles | 14 | |
| Jentsch Acres | 10.4 miles | 14 | |
| Bulverde East (historical) | 10.6 miles | 15 |
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.






