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 Athens responded to 263 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,910 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 360 | — | |
| 2022 | 585 | +62.5% | |
| 2023 | 459 | -21.5% | |
| 2024 | 243 | -47.1% | |
| 2025 | 263 | +8.2% |
For the 38 building fires Athens departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 478 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 | 228 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 62 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 32 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 26 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 15 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 52 | 10.9% |
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 Athens mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 366 | 76.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 3.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 3.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 14 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 1.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 5 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 5.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Athens sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,958 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,700 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,314 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,400 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 607 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 538 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 19.1 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 Athens. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Athens.
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.