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 Richardson responded to 520 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $334K 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 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
3,171 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $11.2M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 593 | — | |
| 2022 | 697 | +17.5% | |
| 2023 | 501 | -28.1% | |
| 2024 | 860 | +71.7% | |
| 2025 | 520 | -39.5% |
For the 37 building fires Richardson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 584 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 116 | 19.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 101 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 63 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 20 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 20 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 20 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 19 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 18 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 15 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 169 | 28.9% |
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 Richardson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 244 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 63 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 48 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 45 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 28 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 22 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 19 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 16 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 16 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 66 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richardson departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 73% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $334,170 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,720 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richardson sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
40 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 6 | |
| 30-39 | 5 | |
| 40-49 | 11 | |
| 50-59 | 4 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,003 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 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 23.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Richardson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richardson.
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.