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 Karnes City responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 57% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
316 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $8.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | +95.2% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -11.0% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -23.3% | |
| 2025 | 63 | +12.5% |
For the 5 building fires Karnes City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 200 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 | 63 | 31.5% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 29 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 15 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 12.0% |
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 Karnes City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 34 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 16 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 15 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Karnes City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Outside equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Karnes City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,051 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 | 3,000 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 1,343 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 735 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 34.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78118 | 316 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Karnes City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Karnes 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.