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 Live Oak responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 49% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
429 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -23.2% | |
| 2024 | 82 | +7.9% | |
| 2025 | 85 | +3.7% |
For the 5 building fires Live Oak departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 32 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 20.1% |
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 Live Oak mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 45.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 9.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Live Oak departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,700 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Live Oak sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,492 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 973 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 956 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 47.3 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 Live Oak. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Live Oak.
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.