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 Northlake responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 68% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
404 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | +20.3% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -5.6% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -2.4% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -8.5% |
For the 14 building fires Northlake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 141 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 | 30 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 28 | 19.9% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 17 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 14 | 9.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Construction/renovation area | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 10.6% |
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 Northlake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 63.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Fireworks | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Northlake departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Northlake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 99,477 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,444 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,600 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,190 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 47.2 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 Northlake. 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.