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 Fritch responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents . 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. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022* | 10 | — | |
| 2023* | 3 | — | |
| 2024 | 15 | — | |
| 2025 | 46 | +206.7% |
* Well below Fritch's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Fritch departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 22 | 51.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.9% | |
| 3 | Wall assembly | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 2.3% |
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 Fritch mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 51.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fritch sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,392,278 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 | 479,549 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 427,696 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60,000 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44,686 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 38,104 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30,000 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 28,800 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 24,310 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,827 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,000 | 4.3 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 Fritch. 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.