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 Nacogdoches responded to 317 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,503 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $960K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 627 | — | |
| 2022 | 530 | -15.5% | |
| 2023 | 508 | -4.2% | |
| 2024 | 521 | +2.6% | |
| 2025 | 317 | -39.2% |
For the 39 building fires Nacogdoches departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,016 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 | 150 | 14.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 138 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 129 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 101 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 97 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 74 | 7.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 27 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 24 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 21 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 20 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 235 | 23.1% |
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 Nacogdoches mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 459 | 45.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 129 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 94 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 63 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 35 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 29 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 29 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 20 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 20 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 19 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 119 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nacogdoches departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nacogdoches sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,774 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20,222 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,550 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4,931 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,000 | 11.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,936 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,783 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,672 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,500 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,500 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,369 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,156 | 28.2 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 Nacogdoches. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nacogdoches.
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.