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 Madisonville responded to 154 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
154 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $150K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 0 | — | |
| 2022* | 0 | — | |
| 2023* | 0 | — | |
| 2024* | 0 | — | |
| 2025 | 154 | — |
* Well below Madisonville's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 5 building fires Madisonville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 13 | 38.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 5.9% |
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 Madisonville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Madisonville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Madisonville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 53,952 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4,931 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,689 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,047 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,500 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,400 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,369 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,035 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,008 | 15.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 36.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77864 | 154 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Madisonville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Madisonville.
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.