(WFAA Texas photo)
PALO PINTO COUNTY, TX (WGNS) – Four Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department firefighters are now in North Texas, working shoulder‑to‑shoulder with crews from across Tennessee as the massive Ross Fire continues to burn through drought‑stricken ranchlands west of Fort Worth. Murfreesboro is the only Rutherford County agency on the deployment, and its four‑person engine crew is part of a 29‑member Tennessee strike team activated under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
The Ross Fire ignited Monday afternoon (8/24/2026) near Highway 180 and R D Bell Road in Palo Pinto County, Texas. What began as a routine brush fire quickly turned into a fast‑moving inferno as triple‑digit temperatures, bone‑dry grass, and wind gusts topping 30 to 40 miles per hour pushed flames across Jack and Palo Pinto counties. As of the latest reports, the fire has burned between 85,000 and 88,000 acres and remains roughly 26% to 31% contained—making it one of the largest wildfires North Texas has seen in modern history…