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 Balch Springs responded to 197 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 55% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
817 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $64.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 74 | — | |
| 2022* | 88 | — | |
| 2023 | 233 | — | |
| 2024 | 225 | -3.4% | |
| 2025 | 197 | -12.4% |
* Well below Balch Springs'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 9 building fires Balch Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 177 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 | 59 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 18.1% |
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 Balch Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 123 | 69.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Balch Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 79% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Balch Springs sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,000 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 | 6,000 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 9.1 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 Balch Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Balch Springs.
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.