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 Burnet responded to 177 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 57% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
638 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $8.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 150 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | -22.7% | |
| 2023 | 95 | -18.1% | |
| 2024 | 100 | +5.3% | |
| 2025 | 177 | +77.0% |
For the 16 building fires Burnet departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 44 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 15.2% |
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 Burnet mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 68.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burnet departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $56,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burnet sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 81,230 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,892 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,468 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 26.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,213 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,180 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,409 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,887 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,079 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 26.2 mi |
Top 6 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 Burnet. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burnet.
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.