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 Fredericksburg responded to 310 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $76K 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 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,456 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 282 | — | |
| 2022 | 423 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 256 | -39.5% | |
| 2024 | 185 | -27.7% | |
| 2025 | 310 | +67.6% |
For the 9 building fires Fredericksburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 271 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 | 45 | 16.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 37 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 18 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 81 | 29.9% |
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 Fredericksburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 101 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 16 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 13 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 12 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 11 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 43 | 15.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fredericksburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $76,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fredericksburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 3 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,957 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,468 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,500 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Smoking | 3,577 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,431 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,800 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 2,000 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,792 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,700 | 23.6 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 Fredericksburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.