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 Jonestown responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
284 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -12.7% | |
| 2023 | 89 | +61.8% | |
| 2024* | 20 | — | |
| 2025 | 57 | — |
* Well below Jonestown'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 Jonestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | Outside area, other | 13 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.0% |
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 Jonestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 47.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Match | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jonestown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $45,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $400 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jonestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 69,638 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 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,792 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 39.8 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 Jonestown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jonestown.
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.