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 Cedar Creek responded to 291 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,355 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 179 | — | |
| 2022 | 326 | +82.1% | |
| 2023 | 277 | -15.0% | |
| 2024 | 282 | +1.8% | |
| 2025 | 291 | +3.2% |
For the 13 building fires Cedar Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 443 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 | 187 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 66 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 41 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 33 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 19 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Other | 5 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 9.7% |
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 Cedar Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 349 | 78.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 3.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 2.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 11 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 8 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 4 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 4.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cedar Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 74,633 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 34,068 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,700 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 27.9 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 Cedar Creek. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cedar Creek.
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.