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 Van Alstyne responded to 314 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,428 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $570K cumulative property loss. 5 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 182 | — | |
| 2022 | 307 | +68.7% | |
| 2023 | 360 | +17.3% | |
| 2024 | 265 | -26.4% | |
| 2025 | 314 | +18.5% |
For the 12 building fires Van Alstyne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 233 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 56 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 25 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 21 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 20 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 16.3% |
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 Van Alstyne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 96 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 34 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Van Alstyne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $62,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Van Alstyne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 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 | 2 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,265 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,000 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,600 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,680 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 775 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 48.9 mi |
Top 9 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 Van Alstyne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Van Alstyne.
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.