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 Manchaca responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Trash or rubbish fire, contained lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
255 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $743K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | — | |
| 2023 | 70 | +59.1% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -32.9% | |
| 2025 | 66 | +40.4% |
* Well below Manchaca'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 3 building fires Manchaca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 11.5% |
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 Manchaca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Manchaca departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Manchaca sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 75,863 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 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 43.8 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 Manchaca. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Manchaca.
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.