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 Johnson City responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $86K 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 78% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
84 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $106K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +254.5% | |
| 2023* | 7 | — | |
| 2024* | 9 | — | |
| 2025 | 18 | — |
* Well below Johnson City'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 Johnson City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Johnson City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Johnson City departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $86,360 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $14,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Johnson City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 37,157 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,792 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,700 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 27.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Johnson City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Johnson 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.