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 Sunnyvale responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $767K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
393 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 90 | +11.1% | |
| 2023 | 95 | +5.6% | |
| 2024 | 72 | -24.2% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -23.6% |
For the 4 building fires Sunnyvale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 132 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 | 28 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 20 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 12.9% |
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 Sunnyvale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 47.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sunnyvale departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $766,930 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sunnyvale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,700 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 41.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Sunnyvale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sunnyvale.
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.