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 Friendswood responded to 231 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K 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 62% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,165 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 203 | — | |
| 2022 | 164 | -19.2% | |
| 2023 | 252 | +53.7% | |
| 2024 | 315 | +25.0% | |
| 2025 | 231 | -26.7% |
For the 40 building fires Friendswood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 246 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 | 30 | 12.2% | |
| 2 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 29 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 28 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 17 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 64 | 26.0% |
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 Friendswood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 79 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 23 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Match | 19 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 10 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 45 | 18.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Friendswood departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Friendswood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
6 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 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,207 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,426 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 5,021 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,028 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,016 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,741 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,982 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,550 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,254 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,250 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,873 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 32.9 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 Friendswood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Friendswood.
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.