Ross Fire grows to 32 400 ha (80 000 acres), Texas

The Ross Fire exploded in size from an initial estimate of about 10 ha (25 acres) on the afternoon of August 24 to at least 20 200 ha (50 000 acres) at 20:00 CDT on August 25 (01:00 UTC on August 26), about 31 hours after it was first reported near Ross in Palo Pinto County.

The fire was 12% contained after damaging or destroying structures and prompting residents of approximately 630 homes to evacuate, with additional evacuation instructions issued in southern Jack County.

The fire began near Ross in Palo Pinto County on the afternoon of August 24, close to U.S. Highway 180, before spreading north into Jack County. The governor’s office reported 5% containment on the morning of August 25, before TFS raised the figure to 12% that evening.

NWS Fort Worth said residents in affected parts of southern Jack County should evacuate east along County Road 2210 toward U.S. Highway 281. An evacuation center was opened at the Twin Lakes Recreation Center on Highway 59 in Jacksboro.

Structures were damaged or destroyed within the fire area, although authorities had not completed a full damage assessment.

CBS Texas reported extensive damage at Worth Ranch in Palo Pinto County, where the Longhorn Council of Scouting America said no scouts, campers or guests were present when the fire arrived. The camp ranger evacuated safely, and the council was still assessing the damage.

TFS and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) personnel supported local crews with bulldozers and aircraft. State resources available for wildfire operations included additional firefighters, heavy equipment, large and single-engine air tankers, water-dropping aircraft and firefighting helicopters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Ross Fire, making Texas eligible for 75% federal reimbursement of eligible wildfire-suppression costs. The governor’s office said the fire had threatened homes, damaged property and infrastructure and prompted local evacuations.

U.S. Highway 180 was closed between South Farm-to-Market Road 4 and Farm-to-Market Road 919 because of the fire.

A temporary flight restriction was established over the incident area for firefighting operations. Jacksboro Independent School District delayed classes by two hours on August 25, while Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District canceled classes for the day.

An elevated fire threat is forecast continue across western North and Central Texas into August 26, with hot, dry, and breezy conditions increasing the fire threat.

Dense smoke from the Ross Fire was expected to continue across western North Texas overnight, reducing visibility in some areas.

NWS forecast a 10–30% chance of showers and thunderstorms across parts of the region on August 26. Gusty winds were possible, but dry air below the clouds was expected to keep rainfall amounts low.

A Heat Advisory remained in effect across North and Central Texas through 21:00 CDT on August 26.

Updates

07:52 UTC, August 27

The Ross Fire has expanded to approximately 32 400 ha (80 000 acres) across Palo Pinto and Jack counties, up from 20 200 ha (50 000 acres) reported in the previous update. Containment remained at 12% in the latest reporting on August 26.

The fire continued burning across predominantly rural terrain west of Fort Worth, with crews working to strengthen containment lines and protect communities and ranch properties along the fire perimeter.

Evacuations remained a major component of the response across the two counties, although conditions improved in some areas during August 26 and some mandatory evacuation orders were lifted or downgraded.

No fatalities had been reported. Structural damage has been confirmed, but a sufficiently authoritative reconciled count of destroyed or damaged buildings was not available for inclusion at the time of this update.

The fire remains active, and dry vegetation and continued elevated fire-weather conditions could support additional spread where containment lines have not been established.

References:

¹ Wildfire Update: August 25, 2026, 8:00 PM — Texas A&M Forest Service — August 25, 2026

² Governor Abbott Announces Federal Assistance For Ross Fire In North Texas — Office of the Texas Governor — August 25, 2026.

³ Ross Fire explodes to over 50,000 acres in North Texas, forcing evacuations and school closures – CBS Texas – Updated August 25, 2026