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 Rio Grande City responded to 240 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,672 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $155K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 304 | — | |
| 2022 | 367 | +20.7% | |
| 2023 | 488 | +33.0% | |
| 2024 | 273 | -44.1% | |
| 2025 | 240 | -12.1% |
For the 22 building fires Rio Grande City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 609 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 | Outside area, other | 221 | 36.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 138 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 92 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 34 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 12 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 10 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 9 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 60 | 9.9% |
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 Rio Grande City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 352 | 57.8% | |
| 2 | Match | 87 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 32 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 18 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 15 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 13 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 10 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 48 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rio Grande City departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rio Grande City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 70,338 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,600 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,400 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 8.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,300 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 24.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Rio Grande City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rio Grande City.
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.