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 Granbury responded to 620 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $766K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,942 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $15.2M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 365 | — | |
| 2022 | 743 | +103.6% | |
| 2023 | 706 | -5.0% | |
| 2024 | 508 | -28.0% | |
| 2025 | 620 | +22.0% |
For the 115 building fires Granbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 582 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 | 190 | 32.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 84 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 60 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 39 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 12 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 11 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 129 | 22.2% |
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 Granbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 315 | 54.1% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 54 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 33 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 31 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 24 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 15 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 13 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 7 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 59 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Granbury departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 72% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $766,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Granbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 208,059 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 126,734 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,555 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 4,483 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,044 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,654 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 44.5 mi |
Top 10 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 Granbury. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Granbury.
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.