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 Red Rock responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
244 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | — | |
| 2023 | 50 | -25.4% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +12.0% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -8.9% |
* Well below Red Rock'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 2 building fires Red Rock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 33 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 1.5% |
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 Red Rock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 75.0% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Red Rock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 72,013 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 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,700 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 47.2 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 Red Rock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Red Rock.
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.