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 Flower Mound responded to 386 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $873K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,519 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $7.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 229 | — | |
| 2022 | 361 | +57.6% | |
| 2023 | 307 | -15.0% | |
| 2024 | 236 | -23.1% | |
| 2025 | 386 | +63.6% |
For the 29 building fires Flower Mound departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 462 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 | 99 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 56 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 49 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 28 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 25 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 22 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 16 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 13 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 11 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 108 | 23.4% |
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 Flower Mound mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 172 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 31 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 29 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 27 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 25 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 19 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 17 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 15 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 15 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 91 | 19.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Flower Mound departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 82% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $873,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $587,783 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $78,925 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Flower Mound sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 77,678 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,900 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 46.1 mi |
Top 8 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 Flower Mound. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Flower Mound.
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.