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 Pflugerville responded to 421 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $145K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,747 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 293 | — | |
| 2022 | 279 | -4.8% | |
| 2023 | 377 | +35.1% | |
| 2024 | 377 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 421 | +11.7% |
For the 26 building fires Pflugerville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 391 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 | 76 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 71 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 43 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 16 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 14 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 14 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 93 | 23.8% |
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 Pflugerville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 227 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 48 | 12.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pflugerville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 60% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $144,550 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $140,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $137,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $57,675 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pflugerville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 76,125 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 34,068 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,400 | 29.8 mi |
Top 10 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 Pflugerville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pflugerville.
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.