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 Baird responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
163 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -52.0% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +37.5% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -6.1% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -19.4% |
For the 4 building fires Baird departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 24.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 9.3% |
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 Baird mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 68.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Baird sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 163,287 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,300 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,360 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 11,015 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,388 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,660 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,500 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,935 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,075 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,040 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,022 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 3,971 | 24.7 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 | 79504 | 163 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Baird. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Baird.
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.