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 Caddo Mills responded to 141 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $135K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
687 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 119 | — | |
| 2023 | 186 | +56.3% | |
| 2024 | 196 | +5.4% | |
| 2025 | 141 | -28.1% |
* Well below Caddo Mills'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 21 building fires Caddo Mills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 221 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 | 93 | 42.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 27 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 12 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 11 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 10.9% |
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 Caddo Mills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 144 | 65.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 5.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Caddo Mills departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $135,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Caddo Mills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,962 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 | 6,000 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 450 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 440 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 440 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 325 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 49.6 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 Caddo Mills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Caddo Mills.
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.