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 Cleburne responded to 423 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,959 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 393 | — | |
| 2022 | 559 | +42.2% | |
| 2023 | 324 | -42.0% | |
| 2024 | 260 | -19.8% | |
| 2025 | 423 | +62.7% |
For the 63 building fires Cleburne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 760 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 132 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 128 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 116 | 15.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 59 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 32 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 31 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 30 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 27 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 14 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 179 | 23.6% |
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 Cleburne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 340 | 44.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 71 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 52 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 40 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 40 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 25 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 24 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 23 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 20 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 20 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 105 | 13.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cleburne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 57% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $70,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cleburne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,350 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,044 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,865 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 19.6 mi |
Top 7 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 Cleburne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cleburne.
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.