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 Benito responded to 178 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
253 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $759K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 29 | — | |
| 2022* | 11 | — | |
| 2023* | 26 | — | |
| 2024* | 9 | — | |
| 2025 | 178 | — |
* Well below San Benito's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 11 building fires San Benito departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 121 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 | 53 | 43.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 29 | 24.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 12.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 6.6% |
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 Benito mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 85 | 70.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Match | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by San Benito departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $23,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. San Benito sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 51,405 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 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 435 | 11.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Benito. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in San Benito.
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.