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 Eagle Lake responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
242 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $426K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +17.5% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +42.6% | |
| 2024 | 36 | -46.3% | |
| 2025 | 52 | +44.4% |
For the 1 building fires Eagle Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 39 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 13 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 7.3% |
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 Eagle Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 63.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated heat from another fire | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 5.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eagle Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 26,384 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 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,085 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,700 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 1,804 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 659 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Other causes | 352 | 9.1 mi |
Top 3 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 Eagle Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Eagle Lake.
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.