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 Quitman responded to 74 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
326 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.3M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | — | |
| 2023 | 42 | -47.5% | |
| 2024 | 102 | +142.9% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -27.5% |
* Well below Quitman's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Quitman departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 173 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 | 43 | 24.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 30 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 28 | 16.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 15.0% |
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 Quitman mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 46 | 26.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Quitman departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $64,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $35,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Quitman sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,936 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 | 3,341 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,324 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,556 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 721 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 661 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 655 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 538 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 511 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 450 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 35.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Quitman. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Quitman.
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.