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 Sweetwater responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 52% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
787 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 170 | — | |
| 2022 | 188 | +10.6% | |
| 2023 | 170 | -9.6% | |
| 2024 | 144 | -15.3% | |
| 2025 | 115 | -20.1% |
For the 8 building fires Sweetwater departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 481 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 | 95 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 54 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 50 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 32 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 18 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 16 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 14 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 138 | 28.7% |
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 Sweetwater mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 285 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 33 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 25 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 19 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 11 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 48 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sweetwater departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Rail vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sweetwater sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 671,705 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 162,625 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 158,308 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 122,500 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72,473 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28,625 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,200 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 19,391 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,513 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,740 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,500 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 4,898 | 38.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Sweetwater. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sweetwater.
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.