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 Castroville responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
157 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $207K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 7 | — | |
| 2022* | 9 | — | |
| 2023* | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | 64 | — | |
| 2025 | 76 | +18.8% |
* Well below Castroville'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 5 building fires Castroville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 28.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.1% |
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 Castroville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Castroville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Castroville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,399 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 3,300 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 940 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 43.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Castroville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Castroville.
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.