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 Tioga responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
146 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -22.9% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +7.4% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -10.3% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +11.5% |
For the 4 building fires Tioga departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 60 | 88.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 1.5% |
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 Tioga mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 94.1% | |
| 2 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 1.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tioga sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 84,484 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31,419 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,000 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 8,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,600 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,119 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 46.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,584 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,940 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,680 | 46.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Tioga. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tioga.
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.