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 Iowa Park responded to 96 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
256 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $21K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | — | |
| 2023* | 28 | — | |
| 2024 | 42 | — | |
| 2025 | 96 | +128.6% |
* Well below Iowa Park'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 6 building fires Iowa Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 8 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 16.2% |
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 Iowa Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 51.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Iowa Park departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Iowa Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 211,098 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 | 41,000 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 21,525 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 18,000 | 26.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,702 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 13,548 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 11,785 | 5.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Firearms and explosives use | 10,471 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8,000 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,100 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,915 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,913 | 25.2 mi |
Top 6 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 Iowa Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Iowa Park.
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.