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 New Waverly responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
417 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 104 | +70.5% | |
| 2023 | 99 | -4.8% | |
| 2024 | 63 | -36.4% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +42.9% |
For the 4 building fires New Waverly departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 184 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 | 77 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 20 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 8.7% |
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 New Waverly mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 119 | 64.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 6.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Waverly departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Waverly sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 79,607 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 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 5,200 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,000 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 3,500 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,047 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,500 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,369 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 19.3 mi |
Top 8 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 New Waverly. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Waverly.
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.