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 Watauga responded to 151 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $288K 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 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
715 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 188 | +106.6% | |
| 2023 | 172 | -8.5% | |
| 2024 | 113 | -34.3% | |
| 2025 | 151 | +33.6% |
For the 25 building fires Watauga departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 169 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 29 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 49 | 29.0% |
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 Watauga mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 23 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 16 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watauga departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $288,484 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $288,484 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watauga sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
14 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 5 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 47,824 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 | 12,201 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,190 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,900 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 47.4 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 Watauga. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Watauga.
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.