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 Lake Dallas responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
285 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -14.5% | |
| 2023 | 69 | +46.8% | |
| 2024 | 64 | -7.2% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -21.9% |
For the 3 building fires Lake Dallas departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 20.4% |
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 Lake Dallas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Dallas departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Dallas sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 80,898 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,600 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,900 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 45.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Lake Dallas. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.