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 Early responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
349 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $936K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 97 | +32.9% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -30.9% | |
| 2024 | 63 | -6.0% | |
| 2025 | 49 | -22.2% |
For the 0 building fires Early departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 153 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 | 34 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 31 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 15 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 15 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 7.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 12.4% |
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 Early mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 60 | 39.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 16 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 15.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Early departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Early sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 136,590 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 | 35,300 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 13,343 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,892 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 9,813 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,660 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,213 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,205 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,100 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,040 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Other causes | 3,507 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,409 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,355 | 7.7 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 Early. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Early.
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.