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 Mesquite responded to 1,075 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
5,505 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $17.4M cumulative property loss. 7 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 871 | — | |
| 2022 | 1,089 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 1,110 | +1.9% | |
| 2024 | 1,360 | +22.5% | |
| 2025 | 1,075 | -21.0% |
For the 51 building fires Mesquite departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,114 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 288 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 146 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 89 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 56 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 51 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 47 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 32 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 27 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 27 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 318 | 28.5% |
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 Mesquite mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 578 | 51.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 115 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 82 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 62 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 53 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 38 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 34 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 22 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 21 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 87 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mesquite departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 53% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $291,060 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 6 | $242,650 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $184,000 | Structure fire, other (conversion only) | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mesquite sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
23 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 4 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 5 | |
| 50-59 | 5 | |
| 60-69 | 5 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,150 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 8.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Mesquite. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mesquite.
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.