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 Conroe responded to 1,376 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
7,489 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $16.2M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,239 | — | |
| 2022 | 1,348 | +8.8% | |
| 2023 | 1,939 | +43.8% | |
| 2024 | 1,587 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 1,376 | -13.3% |
For the 138 building fires Conroe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,647 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 | 534 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 213 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 156 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 150 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 100 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 64 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 61 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 34 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 28 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 25 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 282 | 17.1% |
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 Conroe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 1,001 | 60.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 76 | 4.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 71 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 64 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 58 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 44 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 41 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 37 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 32 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 30 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 193 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Conroe departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 53% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $552,504 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $207,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Conroe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
35 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 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 5 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 3 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 51,661 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,000 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,047 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 7.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,120 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,035 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,008 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 880 | 25.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Conroe. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Conroe.
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.