Ross Fire extinguished after 23 days; Texas A&M Forest Service says wildfire threat continues as crews recover

The Ross Fire in Palo Pinto County has been fully extinguished after burning for 23 days and scorching roughly 90,000 acres across North Texas.

The wildfire destroyed homes, buildings and killed livestock, but fire officials say the response was a success because no civilians were killed or seriously injured.

Ross Fire is the second-largest wildfire in North Texas

The fire began on Aug. 24 and burned for more than three weeks before crews declared it 100% contained and officially extinguished.

"That's a long-time investment for us, for this office," said Adam Turner with the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Turner said the Ross Fire was not the largest wildfire crews have battled, but it came during an unusually busy period for fire response in Texas.

"This was the busiest August for us in Texas and for service for fire response since 2005. This was the biggest summer fire that the state's ever seen in our recorded history," Turner said.

The fire left a significant burn scar across Palo Pinto County, including at Worth Ranch, an iconic scouting camp that was nearly destroyed.

Charred earth, burned trees and destroyed buildings remain across the property weeks after the fire.

Despite the destruction of property and loss of livestock, Turner said the lack of civilian deaths and serious injuries was a major measure of the response.

"But being able to say that we didn't lose any lives or didn't have any injuries to civilians is nothing short of a great success on our part," Turner said.

What happens now that the fire is out?

With the fire extinguished, the focus is shifting from fighting the flames to helping local fire departments recover.

On Wednesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service awarded nearly $5 million to 118 volunteer fire departments that assisted with the response.

The funding is intended to help departments replenish resources used during the fire, including servicing trucks and covering fuel costs.

"So that helps make sure that those volunteers that came out and worked with us day in and day out can make sure that their trucks are serviced, can pay for the fuel they put into it, can even give them, you know, potentially give them some compensation for the time that they lost," Turner said.

Wildfire threat continues for North Texas

Although the Ross Fire is over, the wildfire threat has not ended.

Crews continue responding to new flare-ups across North Texas, and Turner said the region could remain active through the end of September and into early October.

"This is when we tend to see our most active fires here in North Texas. And we're going to continue seeing that. Usually, we taper off the end of September into the first part of October. If we start seeing some moisture develop, I think it'll follow that normal fire season," Turner said.