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 Luling responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
506 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $123K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +71.1% | |
| 2023 | 104 | -26.8% | |
| 2024 | 84 | -19.2% | |
| 2025 | 93 | +10.7% |
For the 5 building fires Luling departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 272 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 | 104 | 38.2% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 40 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 37 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 24 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 6.2% |
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 Luling mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 194 | 71.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Luling departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Luling sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,962 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 34,068 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 973 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 956 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 866 | 19.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Luling. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Luling.
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.