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 Orange Grove responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 155 | +118.3% | |
| 2023 | 85 | -45.2% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -3.5% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -12.2% |
For the 6 building fires Orange Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 334 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 | Outside area, other | 129 | 38.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 72 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 56 | 16.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 19 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 6.6% |
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 Orange Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 204 | 61.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 66 | 19.8% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Match | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 5.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Orange Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,351 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 4,800 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 48.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78372 | 465 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Orange Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Orange Grove.
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.