Ross Fire in North Texas Reaches 100% Containment After 90,000-Acre Run
The Ross Fire near Palo Pinto, Texas burned about 90,000 acres and destroyed at least 167 structures before crews fully contained it on Sept. 16.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Alamo Heights responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
238 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $12K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 65 | +10.2% | |
| 2023* | 17 | — | |
| 2024 | 39 | — | |
| 2025 | 58 | +48.7% |
* Well below Alamo Heights's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Alamo Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Awning | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 14.3% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Alamo Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alamo Heights departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alamo Heights sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,316 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 973 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 866 | 41.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78209 | 238 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Alamo Heights. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alamo Heights.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.