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 Runaway Bay responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
133 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $501K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +15.8% | |
| 2023 | 34 | +54.5% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -2.9% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -24.2% |
For the 4 building fires Runaway Bay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 27 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Construction/renovation area | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 9.1% |
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 Runaway Bay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 53.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 13 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Runaway Bay sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 357,394 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 126,734 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41,000 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27,876 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,444 | 13.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,702 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7,555 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,328 | 17.8 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 Runaway Bay. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Runaway Bay.
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.