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 San Angelo responded to 499 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 49% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,481 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.2M cumulative property loss. 6 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 480 | — | |
| 2022 | 333 | -30.6% | |
| 2023 | 663 | +99.1% | |
| 2024 | 506 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 499 | -1.4% |
For the 38 building fires San Angelo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 798 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 | 190 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 99 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 72 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 64 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 57 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 39 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 21 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 21 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 18 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 18 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 199 | 24.9% |
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 San Angelo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 400 | 50.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 60 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 48 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 39 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 38 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 32 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 28 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 27 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 27 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 18 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 81 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by San Angelo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 62% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $213,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $143,750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $123,750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $120,250 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $78,750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. San Angelo sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
12 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 2 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 667,055 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 | 220,000 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 158,308 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72,473 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42,110 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39,812 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,200 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 19,391 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 12,659 | 13.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,623 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,882 | 38.0 mi |
Top 9 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 San Angelo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in San Angelo.
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.