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 Ennis responded to 191 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,206 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 197 | — | |
| 2022 | 298 | +51.3% | |
| 2023 | 257 | -13.8% | |
| 2024 | 263 | +2.3% | |
| 2025 | 191 | -27.4% |
For the 10 building fires Ennis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 378 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 | 76 | 20.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 55 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 49 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 48 | 12.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 28 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 73 | 19.3% |
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 Ennis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 229 | 60.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 24 | 6.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 39 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ennis departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ennis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 27,823 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 | 6,000 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,000 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 17.2 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 Ennis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ennis.
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.