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 Mount Pleasant responded to 128 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
627 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 164 | +92.9% | |
| 2023 | 152 | -7.3% | |
| 2024 | 98 | -35.5% | |
| 2025 | 128 | +30.6% |
For the 9 building fires Mount Pleasant departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 209 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 | 67 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 22 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 12.4% |
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 Mount Pleasant mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 119 | 56.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 11 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 10 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mount Pleasant departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Pleasant sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,690 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 | 41,050 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,000 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,341 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,324 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,850 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,556 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,540 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 721 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 665 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 661 | 15.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Mount Pleasant. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.