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 Aledo responded to 192 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
963 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $448K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 176 | — | |
| 2022 | 237 | +34.7% | |
| 2023 | 219 | -7.6% | |
| 2024 | 139 | -36.5% | |
| 2025 | 192 | +38.1% |
For the 16 building fires Aledo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 195 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 | Undetermined | 41 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 29 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 20.0% |
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 Aledo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 93 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Aledo departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Aledo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 102,292 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,444 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7,555 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,555 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 4,483 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,044 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,654 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 25.7 mi |
Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Aledo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.