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 Roanoke responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
419 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $497K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 97 | +14.1% | |
| 2023 | 87 | -10.3% | |
| 2024 | 97 | +11.5% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -45.4% |
For the 0 building fires Roanoke departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 131 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 | 20 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 10 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 10 | 7.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 16.0% |
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 Roanoke mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 58.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 9.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roanoke sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 82,033 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,190 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,900 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 32.1 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 Roanoke. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Roanoke.
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.