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 Vernon responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
622 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $641K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 187 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | -29.4% | |
| 2023 | 86 | -34.8% | |
| 2024 | 134 | +55.8% | |
| 2025 | 83 | -38.1% |
For the 0 building fires Vernon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 379 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 | 82 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 61 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 60 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 42 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 12 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 7 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 64 | 16.9% |
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 Vernon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 184 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 43 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 10 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 9 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 56 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vernon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vernon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 146,895 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26,294 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,354 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12,021 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 11,785 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,080 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Other causes | 7,206 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,100 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,880 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4,500 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,700 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3,001 | 45.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Vernon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vernon.
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.