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 Deer Park responded to 149 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 58% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
864 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 143 | — | |
| 2022 | 156 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 196 | +25.6% | |
| 2024 | 220 | +12.2% | |
| 2025 | 149 | -32.3% |
For the 10 building fires Deer Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 209 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 | 53 | 25.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 33 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 23 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 12 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 48 | 23.0% |
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 Deer Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 129 | 61.7% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Deer Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Deer Park sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 65,132 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 | 6,426 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,976 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,260 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 5,021 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,000 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,028 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,016 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,550 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,254 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,250 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,116 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,873 | 44.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Deer Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Deer Park.
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.