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 Wallis responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
68 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $818K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +44.4% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -30.8% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +5.6% |
For the 8 building fires Wallis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 9 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Computer room, control room or center | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Wallis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 65.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wallis departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wallis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 50,281 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,426 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,085 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2,500 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Fireworks | 1,804 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,622 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 659 | 12.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Wallis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wallis.
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.