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 Natalia responded to 113 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $185K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
416 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $989K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 128 | — | |
| 2023* | 40 | — | |
| 2024 | 97 | — | |
| 2025 | 113 | +16.5% |
* Well below Natalia'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 6 building fires Natalia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 35 | 39.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 21 | 23.9% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 17.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 4.5% |
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 Natalia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 44.3% | |
| 2 | Match | 12 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Natalia departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $48,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $400 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $400 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Natalia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,502 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 3,300 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Smoking | 775 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 42.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Natalia. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Natalia.
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.