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 Eastland responded to 160 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
528 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $100.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | +61.8% | |
| 2023 | 86 | -21.8% | |
| 2024 | 104 | +20.9% | |
| 2025 | 160 | +53.8% |
For the 19 building fires Eastland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 198 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 | 37 | 18.7% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 25 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 23 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 44 | 22.2% |
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 Eastland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 44.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 20 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 18 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 12.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eastland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 294,951 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 126,734 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,300 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,360 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,000 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 11,015 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,660 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,555 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,500 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,556 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,935 | 10.5 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 Eastland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Eastland.
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.