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 Lufkin responded to 333 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,349 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $13.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 523 | — | |
| 2022 | 496 | -5.2% | |
| 2023 | 519 | +4.6% | |
| 2024 | 478 | -7.9% | |
| 2025 | 333 | -30.3% |
For the 25 building fires Lufkin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 964 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 | 295 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 91 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 88 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 87 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 63 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 57 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 52 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 34 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 27 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 157 | 16.3% |
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 Lufkin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 468 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 66 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Match | 63 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 59 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 52 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 43 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 37 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 34 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 24 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 21 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 97 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lufkin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 63% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $79,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $66,195 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 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. Lufkin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 70,718 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20,222 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,550 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 5,200 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4,931 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,197 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,000 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,936 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 3,500 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,783 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,500 | 31.6 mi |
Top 9 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 Lufkin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lufkin.
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.