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 Yorktown responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $190K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
174 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $372K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 2 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | — | |
| 2023 | 39 | +2.6% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -5.1% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +56.8% |
* Well below Yorktown'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 5 building fires Yorktown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 37 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Vacant structural area | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 11.1% |
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 Yorktown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 58.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Yorktown departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $190,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Yorktown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 26,842 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 1,568 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 1,343 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,143 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 49.3 mi |
Top 2 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 Yorktown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Yorktown.
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.