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 Texas City responded to 355 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,192 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $14.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 550 | — | |
| 2022 | 350 | -36.4% | |
| 2023 | 436 | +24.6% | |
| 2024 | 501 | +14.9% | |
| 2025 | 355 | -29.1% |
For the 20 building fires Texas City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 604 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 | 111 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 84 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 72 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 50 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 37 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 17 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 16 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 15 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 15 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 15 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 172 | 28.5% |
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 Texas City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 305 | 50.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 42 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 40 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 29 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 28 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 28 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 21 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 14 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 13 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 13 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 71 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Texas City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 52% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Texas City sits below 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 137,347 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,169 | 47.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 13,400 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 13,000 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 8,358 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,972 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,976 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,668 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,388 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,260 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,150 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 5,021 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,000 | 48.9 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 Texas City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Texas City.
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.