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 Lakeway responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
382 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | +19.2% | |
| 2023 | 87 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 58 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 77 | +32.8% |
For the 13 building fires Lakeway departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | 23 | 27.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 24.1% |
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 Lakeway mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 54.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lakeway departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lakeway sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 69,037 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 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 6.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 40.1 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 Lakeway. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lakeway.
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.