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 Sandy Oaks responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
297 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $651K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 84 | — | |
| 2023 | 48 | -42.9% | |
| 2024 | 55 | +14.6% | |
| 2025 | 85 | +54.5% |
* Well below Sandy Oaks'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 4 building fires Sandy Oaks departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 19 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 8.3% |
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 Sandy Oaks mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sandy Oaks departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sandy Oaks sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,143 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,120 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,085 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 42.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78112 | 297 |
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Sandy Oaks. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.