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 Springtown responded to 464 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,352 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $870K cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 413 | — | |
| 2022 | 648 | +56.9% | |
| 2023 | 464 | -28.4% | |
| 2024 | 363 | -21.8% | |
| 2025 | 464 | +27.8% |
For the 28 building fires Springtown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 528 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 | 206 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 89 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 77 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 19 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 12 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 6 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 64 | 12.1% |
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 Springtown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 345 | 65.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 24 | 4.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 20 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 2.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 12 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 12 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 11 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 10 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 61 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Springtown departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Springtown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
8 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 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 305,436 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 126,734 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27,876 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,444 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,201 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7,555 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,328 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,555 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 6,000 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,915 | 49.3 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 Springtown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Springtown.
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.