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 Kemp responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Kemp's departments reported 49 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 131 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
657 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 168 | — | |
| 2022 | 291 | +73.2% | |
| 2023 | 96 | -67.0% | |
| 2024* | 53 | — | |
| 2025* | 49 | — |
* Well below Kemp'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 Kemp departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 109 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 | 75 | 68.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 4.6% |
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 Kemp mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 78.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kemp departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kemp sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,600 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 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 450 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 440 | 6.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 20.4 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 Kemp. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kemp.
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.