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 Brookshire responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 53% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
366 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $865K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | — | |
| 2023 | 74 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 93 | +25.7% | |
| 2025 | 91 | -2.2% |
* Well below Brookshire'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 7 building fires Brookshire departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 155 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 | 34 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 14.2% |
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 Brookshire mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 82 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brookshire departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brookshire sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,086 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,426 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,085 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 1,804 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 659 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 22.7 mi |
Top 8 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 Brookshire. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brookshire.
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.