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 Lago Vista responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $650K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
432 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 102 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 99 | -2.9% | |
| 2024* | 27 | — | |
| 2025 | 85 | — |
* Well below Lago Vista'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 Lago Vista departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 142 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 | 34 | 23.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 34 | 23.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Construction/renovation area | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 15.5% |
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 Lago Vista mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 54.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lago Vista departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $650,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $451,400 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lago Vista 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 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 7.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,792 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 36.9 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 Lago Vista. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lago Vista.
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.