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.
TX
In 2025, fire departments serving Temple responded to 557 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K 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 42% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
3,079 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $12.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 582 | — | |
| 2022 | 698 | +19.9% | |
| 2023 | 731 | +4.7% | |
| 2024 | 511 | -30.1% | |
| 2025 | 557 | +9.0% |
For the 30 building fires Temple departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,195 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 | 274 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 134 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 116 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 85 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 76 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 69 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Other | 68 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 30 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 26 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 26 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 291 | 24.4% |
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 Temple mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 568 | 47.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 83 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 71 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 66 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 64 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 56 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 40 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 38 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 35 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 29 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 145 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Temple departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 72% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $425,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $210,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Temple sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
11 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 39,849 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 | 6,180 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,700 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,887 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2,106 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,635 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,480 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 31.4 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 Temple. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Temple.
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.