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.
TX
In 2025, fire departments serving Roma responded to 130 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
730 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 142 | — | |
| 2022 | 147 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 178 | +21.1% | |
| 2024 | 133 | -25.3% | |
| 2025 | 130 | -2.3% |
For the 16 building fires Roma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 297 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 | 85 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 74 | 24.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 62 | 20.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 7.4% |
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 Roma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 236 | 79.5% | |
| 2 | Match | 12 | 4.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 3.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 4.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roma sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 53,638 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,400 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,300 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 34.9 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 Roma. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Roma.
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.