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 Harlingen responded to 539 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,648 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $857K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 646 | — | |
| 2022 | 414 | -35.9% | |
| 2023 | 530 | +28.0% | |
| 2024 | 519 | -2.1% | |
| 2025 | 539 | +3.9% |
For the 32 building fires Harlingen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,189 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 | 395 | 33.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 235 | 19.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 165 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 86 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 67 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 33 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 23 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 15 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 13 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 12 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 145 | 12.2% |
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 Harlingen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 924 | 77.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 45 | 3.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 44 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 19 | 1.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 1.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Match | 14 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 12 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 11 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 76 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harlingen departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 85% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harlingen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
9 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 | 3 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,605 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,600 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 28.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Harlingen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Harlingen.
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.