Southeast Texas had the flood. West of Fort Worth still has the fire.
The Ross Fire has burned about 90,400 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties, the Texas A&M Forest Service said. Containment is 38%. That is ten days after it started on August 24 near U.S. 180.
National Weather Service Fort Worth now ranks it the second-largest wildfire in North Texas history, behind the 2011 Possum Kingdom Complex (126,734 acres). Forest Service officials also called it the stateβs largest recorded summer-season fire β June through September.
The scoreboard that is not a weather graphic
- 157 structures destroyed, 18 of them occupied homes.
- 140 damaged.
- 453 saved, including a fight around Worth Ranch, the historic Scouting camp on the Brazos.
- No deaths, no injuries reported.
- Evacuation orders in Jack County and the voluntary advisories in Palo Pinto have been lifted. Officials still want people ready to leave if the wind shifts.
- Cause: human, tied to equipment or vehicle use on a roadside. An early blown-tire theory did not hold as the final line.
It jumped to about 50,000 acres by the second day. Dry grass, 109-degree heat, humidity down around 16%, gusts near 25 mph. That is how a ranch fire becomes a county line.
Texas has logged about 4,500 wildfires this year. Last year had more fires and less dirt burned β about 132,000 acres then, more than 328,000 already in 2026. Crews were still working the west side near Possum Kingdom Lake as east winds threatened new runs.
What this means for you
If you are in those counties, lifted orders are not a picnic permit. Hot spots inside a 90,000-acre footprint restart on a breeze.
If you are not, this is the other Texas story under the jobs print: a state that flooded on the Gulf and burned on the prairie in the same week.
Bottom line: 38% contained is not out. 90,400 acres is not a grass fire. North Texas is still in it.
GLHR NEWS explains the news. Not investment, tax, or trading advice. Do your own work before you act.
