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 Blanco responded to 119 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $445K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
566 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 151 | +51.0% | |
| 2023 | 134 | -11.3% | |
| 2024* | 62 | — | |
| 2025 | 119 | — |
* Well below Blanco'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 Blanco departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 101 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 | 25 | 24.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 13 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 15.8% |
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 Blanco mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 58.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blanco departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $445,150 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $445,150 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,368 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blanco sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,265 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 | 6,500 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,700 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,080 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 34.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Blanco. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Blanco.
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.