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 Laredo responded to 1,357 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 56% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
7,095 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $26.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,562 | — | |
| 2022 | 1,327 | -15.0% | |
| 2023 | 1,354 | +2.0% | |
| 2024 | 1,495 | +10.4% | |
| 2025 | 1,357 | -9.2% |
For the 55 building fires Laredo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,995 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 | 605 | 30.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 477 | 23.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 143 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 58 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 57 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 53 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 49 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 48 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 45 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 40 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 420 | 21.1% |
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 Laredo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 1,244 | 62.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 134 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 129 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 92 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 58 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 39 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 37 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 32 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 25 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 22 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 183 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Laredo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 39% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $345,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 6 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $198,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Laredo sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 45,619 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,919 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,200 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,300 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,200 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,000 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 600 | 14.8 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 Laredo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Laredo.
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.