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 Lancaster responded to 291 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 48% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,457 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $8.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 281 | — | |
| 2022 | 327 | +16.4% | |
| 2023 | 271 | -17.1% | |
| 2024 | 287 | +5.9% | |
| 2025 | 291 | +1.4% |
For the 29 building fires Lancaster departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 636 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 | 117 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 80 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 77 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 61 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 59 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 33 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 23 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 22 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 20 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 127 | 20.0% |
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 Lancaster mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 365 | 57.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 36 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 32 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 25 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 24 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 22 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 19 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 17 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Match | 13 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 11 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 72 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lancaster departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 71% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $144,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lancaster sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,031 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 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Smoking | 1,000 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 33.5 mi |
Top 10 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 Lancaster. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lancaster.
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.