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 Coleman responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
401 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 69 | -39.5% | |
| 2024 | 81 | +17.4% | |
| 2025 | 61 | -24.7% |
For the 5 building fires Coleman departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 162 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 | Outside area, other | 25 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 25 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 20.4% |
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 Coleman mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Coleman sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 105,552 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 | 35,300 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 13,343 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,660 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,623 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,040 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Other causes | 3,507 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,355 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,026 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,000 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 45.3 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 | 76834 | 401 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Coleman. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Coleman.
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.