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 Waxahachie responded to 118 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $650K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
480 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 12 | — | |
| 2022* | 54 | — | |
| 2023 | 137 | — | |
| 2024 | 159 | +16.1% | |
| 2025 | 118 | -25.8% |
* Well below Waxahachie's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Waxahachie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 237 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 | 85 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 46 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 34 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 10.1% |
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 Waxahachie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 140 | 59.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Match | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waxahachie departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $650,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $350,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waxahachie sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,879 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,000 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2,350 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,153 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,280 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 28.5 mi |
Top 10 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 Waxahachie. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Waxahachie.
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.