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 Sansom Park responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
182 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $134K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022* | 6 | — | |
| 2023 | 40 | — | |
| 2024 | 37 | -7.5% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +27.0% |
* Well below Sansom Park'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 3 building fires Sansom Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 6 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 17.9% |
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 Sansom Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sansom Park departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sansom Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 65,655 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,190 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 6.9 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 Sansom Park. 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.