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 Bay City responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
340 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $300K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 111 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | -54.1% | |
| 2023 | 57 | +11.8% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +22.8% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -27.1% |
For the 7 building fires Bay City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 174 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 | 64 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 42 | 24.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 4.0% |
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 Bay City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 156 | 89.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 0.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bay City departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bay City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 54,441 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,426 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,028 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,888 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,741 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,982 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 2,682 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,550 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 3.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 2,200 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.4 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 | 77414 | 340 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Bay City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bay City.
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.