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 Galena Park responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $121K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
284 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $869K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022* | 34 | — | |
| 2023 | 72 | — | |
| 2024 | 80 | +11.1% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -47.5% |
* Well below Galena Park'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 7 building fires Galena Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 17 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 25.9% |
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 Galena Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Match | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Galena Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $121,269 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Rail vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Galena Park sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 50,651 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 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 5,021 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,000 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,028 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,550 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,254 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 2,250 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,407 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,399 | 42.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Galena Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Galena Park.
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.