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 Gatesville responded to 228 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $88K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,466 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 235 | — | |
| 2022 | 379 | +61.3% | |
| 2023 | 305 | -19.5% | |
| 2024 | 319 | +4.6% | |
| 2025 | 228 | -28.5% |
For the 23 building fires Gatesville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 690 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 153 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 105 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 79 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 73 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 60 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 35 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 31 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 25 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 104 | 15.1% |
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 Gatesville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 236 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 117 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 49 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 49 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 38 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 38 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 33 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 24 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 13 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 12 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 81 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gatesville departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $87,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $32,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gatesville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 53,524 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 | 6,180 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,100 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,044 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,887 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,800 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,701 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,635 | 19.7 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 Gatesville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gatesville.
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.