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 Mercedes responded to 189 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,052 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $537K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 210 | — | |
| 2022 | 241 | +14.8% | |
| 2023 | 236 | -2.1% | |
| 2024 | 176 | -25.4% | |
| 2025 | 189 | +7.4% |
For the 10 building fires Mercedes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 579 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 | 275 | 47.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 107 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 56 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 33 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 23 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 7.4% |
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 Mercedes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 426 | 73.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 27 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 16 | 2.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 46 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mercedes departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $22,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mercedes sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 59,308 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,600 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,288 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 46.5 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 Mercedes. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mercedes.
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.