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 Hidalgo responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 44% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
307 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | — | |
| 2023 | 74 | -7.5% | |
| 2024 | 66 | -10.8% | |
| 2025 | 62 | -6.1% |
* Well below Hidalgo'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 Hidalgo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 141 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 | 68 | 48.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 14 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 12.1% |
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 Hidalgo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 106 | 75.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hidalgo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hidalgo sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 61,738 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 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,300 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,500 | 46.1 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 Hidalgo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hidalgo.
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.