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 Jarrell responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $175K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 42% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
421 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | — | |
| 2023 | 90 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 87 | -3.3% | |
| 2025 | 105 | +20.7% |
* Well below Jarrell'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 5 building fires Jarrell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 27 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 17.2% |
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 Jarrell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jarrell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $45,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $26,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jarrell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 81,654 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 34,068 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,180 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,887 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,635 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 34.0 mi |
Top 7 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 Jarrell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jarrell.
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.