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 Seguin responded to 594 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,427 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.9M cumulative property loss. 5 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 385 | — | |
| 2022 | 636 | +65.2% | |
| 2023 | 395 | -37.9% | |
| 2024 | 417 | +5.6% | |
| 2025 | 594 | +42.4% |
For the 50 building fires Seguin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 924 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 161 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 149 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 128 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 108 | 11.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 72 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 42 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 24 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 18 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 17 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 15 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 190 | 20.6% |
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 Seguin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 447 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 49 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 47 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 43 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 38 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 37 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 36 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 23 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 22 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 160 | 17.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Seguin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 79% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Seguin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
44 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 | 3 | |
| 10-19 | 6 | |
| 20-29 | 10 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 8 | |
| 50-59 | 6 | |
| 60-69 | 3 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 2 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,853 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,030 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,175 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 973 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 956 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 866 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 4.6 mi |
Top 8 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 Seguin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Seguin.
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.