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 Kaufman responded to 349 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K 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 88% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,692 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 476 | — | |
| 2022 | 533 | +12.0% | |
| 2023 | 299 | -43.9% | |
| 2024* | 35 | — | |
| 2025 | 349 | — |
* Well below Kaufman'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 2 building fires Kaufman departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 211 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 | 111 | 52.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 18 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 10.9% |
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 Kaufman mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 131 | 62.1% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kaufman departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Structure fire, other (conversion only) | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kaufman sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,570 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 | 6,000 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 450 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 440 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 22.0 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 Kaufman. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kaufman.
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.