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.
TX
In 2025, fire departments serving Cuero responded to 105 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 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
567 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $269K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 144 | +102.8% | |
| 2023 | 105 | -27.1% | |
| 2024 | 142 | +35.2% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -26.1% |
For the 10 building fires Cuero departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 344 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 | 80 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 57 | 16.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 54 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 18 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 16 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 46 | 13.4% |
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 Cuero mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 172 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 27 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 16 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Match | 13 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 48 | 14.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cuero sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,374 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 | 3,500 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 1,343 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,143 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 39.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Cuero. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cuero.
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.