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 Marcos responded to 625 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M 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 47% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,811 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $6.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 503 | — | |
| 2022 | 605 | +20.3% | |
| 2023 | 620 | +2.5% | |
| 2024 | 458 | -26.1% | |
| 2025 | 625 | +36.5% |
For the 54 building fires San Marcos departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 552 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 | 125 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 106 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 84 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 16 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 16 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 13 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 12 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 129 | 23.4% |
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 San Marcos mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 369 | 66.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 28 | 5.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 17 | 3.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 17 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Candle | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 54 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by San Marcos departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. San Marcos sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 73,350 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 34,068 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,582 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,491 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,455 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 6.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 34.5 mi |
Top 10 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 Marcos. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in San Marcos.
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.