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 Breckenridge responded to 104 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
804 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 249 | — | |
| 2022 | 186 | -25.3% | |
| 2023 | 135 | -27.4% | |
| 2024 | 130 | -3.7% | |
| 2025 | 104 | -20.0% |
For the 8 building fires Breckenridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 323 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 105 | 32.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 63 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 45 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 23 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 37 | 11.5% |
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 Breckenridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 151 | 46.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 44 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 22 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 32 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Breckenridge departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Breckenridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 360,952 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 126,734 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,300 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27,876 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,263 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,360 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,000 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 11,015 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,388 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,660 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7,555 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,000 | 47.9 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 Breckenridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Breckenridge.
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.