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 Freeport responded to 138 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
673 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 151 | +60.6% | |
| 2023 | 165 | +9.3% | |
| 2024 | 125 | -24.2% | |
| 2025 | 138 | +10.4% |
For the 9 building fires Freeport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 180 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 | 40 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 13 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 23.9% |
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 Freeport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 95 | 52.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Freeport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $23,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Freeport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
9 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 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 40,715 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Natural | 4,028 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,888 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,741 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,982 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 2,682 | 14.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,550 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 2,200 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 1,765 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 22.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 1,319 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,300 | 19.1 mi |
Top 6 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 Freeport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Freeport.
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.