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 Willis responded to 490 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 65% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,121 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.2M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 306 | — | |
| 2022 | 356 | +16.3% | |
| 2023 | 493 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 476 | -3.4% | |
| 2025 | 490 | +2.9% |
For the 50 building fires Willis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 386 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 | 172 | 44.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 53 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 20 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 11 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 57 | 14.8% |
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 Willis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 251 | 65.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 18 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 7 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 34 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Willis departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 69% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $95,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Willis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
11 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 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 5 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 2 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 73,164 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20,222 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 19,960 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,280 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 5,000 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,047 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,757 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,500 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,369 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 12.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,120 | 29.7 mi |
Top 7 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 Willis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Willis.
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.