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 Dumas responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $119K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
599 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 122 | — | |
| 2022 | 130 | +6.6% | |
| 2023 | 133 | +2.3% | |
| 2024 | 108 | -18.8% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -1.9% |
For the 8 building fires Dumas departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 308 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 | 65 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 32 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 23 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 20 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 16 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 10 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 74 | 24.0% |
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 Dumas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 100 | 32.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 30 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 29 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 25 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 12 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 7 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 7 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 43 | 14.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dumas departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $119,130 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $52,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $32,710 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dumas sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 922,829 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 479,549 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60,000 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44,686 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30,000 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 28,800 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 24,310 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,827 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 20,000 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,000 | 43.2 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 Dumas. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dumas.
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.