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 Bushland responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 87% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
72 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | — | |
| 2023 | 18 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +22.2% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -31.8% |
* Well below Bushland'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 0 building fires Bushland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | Outside area, other | 14 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 5.0% |
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 Bushland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bushland departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bushland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 395,153 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 | 60,000 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 28,800 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 24,310 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,827 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 20,000 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,803 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,000 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15,682 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,280 | 34.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Bushland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.