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 Cactus responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $32K 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 50% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
116 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $242K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +23.8% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -3.8% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +12.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -42.9% |
For the 1 building fires Cactus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 13.6% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 19.7% |
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 Cactus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cactus departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $32,136 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,250 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $125 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cactus sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 815,370 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 479,549 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60,000 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30,000 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,827 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 20,000 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15,682 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 13,000 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,913 | 36.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 79013 | 116 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Cactus. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cactus.
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.