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 Cooper responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
207 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $150K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022* | 12 | — | |
| 2023 | 71 | — | |
| 2024 | 31 | -56.3% | |
| 2025 | 61 | +96.8% |
* Well below Cooper'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 4 building fires Cooper departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 36 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 7.4% |
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 Cooper mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 82.4% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cooper departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cooper sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,094 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 4,000 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,540 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 721 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 661 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 655 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 651 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 638 | 44.7 mi |
Top 5 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 Cooper. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cooper.
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.