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 Longview responded to 1,678 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1000K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
6,497 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $14.1M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,089 | — | |
| 2022 | 1,358 | +24.7% | |
| 2023 | 1,242 | -8.5% | |
| 2024 | 1,130 | -9.0% | |
| 2025 | 1,678 | +48.5% |
For the 54 building fires Longview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,194 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 | 182 | 15.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 165 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 157 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 89 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 58 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 51 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 37 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 35 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 34 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Other | 33 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 353 | 29.6% |
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 Longview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 603 | 50.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 92 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 67 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 54 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 51 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 38 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 34 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 30 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 30 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 29 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 166 | 13.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Longview departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 60% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $999,999 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $120,180 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $119,820 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Longview sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
46 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 | 5 | |
| 20-29 | 7 | |
| 30-39 | 9 | |
| 40-49 | 5 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 4 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,399 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41,050 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,341 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,378 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,324 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,036 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,672 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,556 | 11.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,500 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,465 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,048 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 49.7 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 Longview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Longview.
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.