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 Bellmead responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
317 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $290K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 69 | +6.2% | |
| 2023 | 64 | -7.2% | |
| 2024* | 13 | — | |
| 2025 | 106 | — |
* Well below Bellmead'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 4 building fires Bellmead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 13 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 17.9% |
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 Bellmead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 64.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Candle | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bellmead departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bellmead sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 39,090 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 | 6,180 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,044 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,000 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 37.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Bellmead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bellmead.
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.