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 Gun Barrel City responded to 146 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
916 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 190 | — | |
| 2022 | 226 | +18.9% | |
| 2023 | 205 | -9.3% | |
| 2024 | 149 | -27.3% | |
| 2025 | 146 | -2.0% |
For the 14 building fires Gun Barrel City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 171 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 | 62 | 36.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 21.1% |
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 Gun Barrel City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 116 | 67.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 5.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gun Barrel City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gun Barrel City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 4 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 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. 25,519 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 | 6,000 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,700 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,314 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 607 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 38.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Gun Barrel City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gun Barrel City.
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.