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 Sparks responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
38 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $126K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 2 | — | |
| 2022* | 4 | — | |
| 2023* | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | 13 | — | |
| 2025 | 18 | +38.5% |
* Well below Sparks'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 2 building fires Sparks departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 10 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.6% |
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 Sparks mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 61.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sparks departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Commercial Compactor fire, confined to rubbish | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sparks sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,734 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Natural | 14,103 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,424 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 9,000 | 33.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 8,900 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,160 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 4,115 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,582 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,150 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,735 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 1,050 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 1,000 | 48.5 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 Sparks. 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.