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 Ovilla responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
272 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $885K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | +111.4% | |
| 2023 | 61 | -34.4% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -39.3% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +0.0% |
For the 5 building fires Ovilla departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 24 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 11.4% |
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 Ovilla mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 38.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ovilla departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $800 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ovilla sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,991 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Smoking | 1,000 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 27.2 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 | 75154 | 272 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Ovilla. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ovilla.
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.