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 Marion responded to 100 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
231 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $890K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 6 | — | |
| 2022* | 19 | — | |
| 2023 | 61 | — | |
| 2024 | 45 | -26.2% | |
| 2025 | 100 | +122.2% |
* Well below Marion'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 Marion departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 28.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 15.1% |
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 Marion mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 47.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marion departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marion sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 27,022 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 | 6,030 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 6.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 5.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 973 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 956 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 866 | 23.2 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 Marion. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Marion.
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.