UPDATE: Pauline Road Fire north of Montgomery County 65% contained, evacuees can return home

Dubbed the Pauline Road Fire, the wildfire is located primarily within the Sam Houston National Forest and is at about 45% containment as of the evening of March 20, the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced via Facebook March 20.

Jason Millsaps, executive director of the MCOHSEM, said the fire’s growth slowed throughout the afternoon as fire crews were able to set up lines of containment.

“It's seen very little forward progress today,” Millsaps said. “It has kind of fanned out just a little bit in its growth, but forward progress has somewhat been stopped.”

Around 900 homes remained evacuated on March 20, Millsaps said. Two structures were lost during the fire, according to officials.

Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said between 60-80 livestock that had been displaced as a result of the fire have been rescued.

Also of note

Josh Mizrany, assistant chief with the Texas A&M Forest Service, said the cause of the fire can be attributed to a prescribed burn. An investigation surrounding the circumstances of that prescribed burn is underway, he said.

Mizrany noted individuals traveling in the area should remain cautious as crews continue to battle the fire.

“If you’re in the area, be vigilant and be careful,” Mizrany said. “There’s a lot of extra traffic out here right now, so we need to have a lot of precaution traveling the roads out here.”

Before you go

Gov. Greg Abbott announced March 20 that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state’s request for a fire management assistance grant for the Pauline Road Fire.

The grant approval makes Texas eligible for 75% reimbursement from the federal government for costs associated with fighting the fire, according to the March 20 news release.

“Texas continues to provide all necessary resources to local officials and firefighters currently battling the Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties,” Abbott said via the news release. “This crucial grant will help Texas fight this wildfire and protect the safety and well-being of Texans.”

Posted 11:23 a.m. March 20

A disaster declaration has been issued in response to a wildfire that began spreading through south San Jacinto County into north Montgomery County late March 19, forcing residents in both counties to evacuate. It has now grown to 2,350 acres by 10:50 a.m. on March 20, county officials said.

Current situation

Dubbed the Pauline Road Fire, the wildfire is located primarily within the Sam Houston National Forest and is at about 10%-20% containment as of the morning of March 20, various Montgomery County officials said.

“This thing is not going away for a while,” Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said during a news conference held the morning of March 20. “These winds and these gusts are exacerbating the situation and it continues to keep moving forward.”

Overnight, firefighters worked to protect structures, preventing any damage so far, Keough said in a March 20 Facebook post. Beginning the morning of March 20, fire teams were slated to focus on containing the fire with air tankers and dozers. Keough issued a local state of disaster declaration due to the fire for Montgomery County, according to a March 20 Facebook post.

About 120 fire personnel have been deployed between San Jacinto and Montgomery counties, along with 30 personnel from the Texas A&M Forest Service, said Jason Millsaps, executive director of the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The U.S. Forest Service is slated to join the efforts later on March 20.

“We’re also making sure we keep resources throughout the county because we’re under a red flag warning and we could have another fire in another part of Montgomery County or even in the surrounding counties that we’ll have to respond to,” Millsaps said. “So we don’t want to drag everything over here unless necessary because we’ll leave vulnerable areas of the county without protection.”

What you need to know

Mandatory evacuations issued for 900 homes in San Jacinto County are still in place, Keough said.

Residents living east of Peach Creek along the Lee Turner Road should be evacuated, while those residing west of Peach Creek in Montgomery County need to be prepared for evacuation orders, Millsaps said.

“Yesterday we watched this fire move 1 mile in about 45 minutes,” Millsaps said. “It was very rapidly spreading. So if that was to occur today, you would have very little time to make preparations to leave your home. That’s why you should have done that yesterday. But if you haven’t, this morning is the best time to do it because by this afternoon the behavior of this fire is going to rapidly change.”

Residents are also asked not to fly drones near the wildfire as they can disrupt firefighting aircraft, officials with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office said.

According to county officials, emergency shelters for the fire include:

• First Baptist Church Groceville, which is accepting evacuees and is located at 19256 FM 1484, Conroe
• The East Montgomery County Community Development Center, which is accepting evacuees and is located at 16401 First St., Splendora
• Community Transformation Church-New Caney, which is accepting evacuees and is located at 17802 Hwy. 59, New Caney
• San Jacinto County Shelter, which is accepting evacuees and is located at 255 Live Oak St., Coldspring.
• Caney Creek Cowboy Church, which is accepting livestock and is located at 17703 Nonesuch Road, Conroe
• Bull Sallas Park, which is accepting livestock and is located at 21675 McCleskey Road, New Caney
• Stancil Exposition Center & Arena, which is accepting livestock and animals and is located at 211 Peach Ave., Cleveland

How it happened

The San Jacinto Fire Marshal’s Office will be looking into the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation, Millsaps said. Officials know the fire began somewhere in San Jacinto County.

Stay tuned

To sign up for AlertMCTX, the official emergency notification system used by Montgomery County 911 and the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to communicate with residents during emergencies, click here.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Jessica Shorten contributed to this report.