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 Wylie responded to 356 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K 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 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,567 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 240 | — | |
| 2022 | 310 | +29.2% | |
| 2023 | 277 | -10.6% | |
| 2024 | 384 | +38.6% | |
| 2025 | 356 | -7.3% |
For the 31 building fires Wylie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 366 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 | 66 | 18.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 51 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 31 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 27 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 19 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 18 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 15 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 12 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 12 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 98 | 26.8% |
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 Wylie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 142 | 38.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 32 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 30 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 12 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 9 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 51 | 13.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wylie departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $28,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wylie sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
7 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 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,553 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 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,700 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 960 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 630 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 508 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 45.9 mi |
Top 9 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 Wylie. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wylie.
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.