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 Richland Hills responded to 118 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 68% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
384 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $768K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 34 | — | |
| 2022* | 24 | — | |
| 2023 | 63 | — | |
| 2024 | 145 | +130.2% | |
| 2025 | 118 | -18.6% |
* Well below Richland Hills'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 9 building fires Richland Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 33.3% |
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 Richland Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richland Hills departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richland Hills sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,538 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,190 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 4.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,900 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 47.0 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 Richland Hills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richland Hills.
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.