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 Copperas Cove responded to 149 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $658K 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 50% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,049 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 230 | — | |
| 2022 | 259 | +12.6% | |
| 2023 | 202 | -22.0% | |
| 2024 | 209 | +3.5% | |
| 2025 | 149 | -28.7% |
For the 20 building fires Copperas Cove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 359 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 53 | 14.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 52 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 39 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 26 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 24 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 19 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 12 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 93 | 25.9% |
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 Copperas Cove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 144 | 40.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 30 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 28 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 24 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 22 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 13 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 50 | 13.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Copperas Cove departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $658,220 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $134,560 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Copperas Cove sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
22 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 | 2 | |
| 10-19 | 3 | |
| 20-29 | 6 | |
| 30-39 | 7 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,722 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,180 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,887 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,800 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 9.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,792 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,701 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,635 | 21.4 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 Copperas Cove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Copperas Cove.
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.