SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas — An estimated 2,000 acres are burning in a wildfire in San Jacinto County near the Montgomery County line, prompting evacuations and the closure of a school district. High wind and low humidity provided the fuel the fire needed to spread quickly.
According to an update from Texas A&M Forest Service at 9 a.m. Thursday, the Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto County remained at 2,000 acres and 20% contained between Conroe and Cleveland.
Overnight, fire behavior diminished, allowing firefighters and dozer crews to expand containment efforts. Crews are building fire lines around the perimeter to slow the fire’s spread.
Check the latest on the fire on the Texas A&M Forest Service incident map.
RELATED: Evacuations ordered as San Jacinto County wildfire grows | List of locations
Evacuations
Montgomery County officials say around 900 homes are affected by evacuations. They add that those who have not evacuated yet should do so Thursday morning because the Red Flag Warning conditions could lead to a dangerous situation in the afternoon.
As of 9 a.m., evacuation orders have not changed, but residents must remain out of affected areas.
- At around midnight, The Montgomery County OEM issued new evacuations for people in the following locations: Holstein Dr., Hereford Way, Cross Cut, Rock Pigeon, Boar’s Run, Grey Goose, Brown Bear, Duroc Ct., Big Beaver, Blue Teal, Grant Lake Circle, N. Duck Creek north of Blue Teal.
- As of 8:15 p.m., there were evacuations in place for the following roads in San Jacinto County: Pauline Road, Lee Turner Road, Kirby Road, Big Buck Road, Hereford Way and Blue Teal Road in San Jacinto County.
Update: the #PaulineRoadFire in San Jacinto County is an estimated 2,000 acres and 10% contained. Firefighters and dozer crews are building containment line along the flanks of the fire. #txfirepic.twitter.com/Fduiv80H4e
— Incident Information – Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) March 20, 2025
Montgomery County officials told residents south and west of Peach Creek that they needed to be prepared to evacuate if the fire crossed the creek. There were voluntary evacuation orders for residents in the Doru Drive and Big Buck Drive areas.
Shelters
- Cleveland: Calvary Baptist Church in Cleveland at 816 Blair Ave. | Map
- Splendora: East Montgomery County Community Development Center at 16401 1st Street | Map
- Coldspring: San Jacinto County Shelter at 255 Live Oak Street | Map
Cleveland ISD closed
Cleveland ISD posted a message late Wednesday night saying that due to the ongoing Pauline Road fires and expected conditions, the district will be closed on Thursday, March 20.
Livestock evacuated
Livestock was evacuated from areas impacted by the fire. Residents were told that if they needed a safe place for animals, they could take them to Caney Creek Cowboy Church. It’s at 17703 Nonesuch Road in Conroe.
Fighting the fire
Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough gave an update just before 9 a.m. Thursday saying that no structures have been damaged thanks to the fire crews protecting them.
Keough said that air tankers, dozers and additional firefighters will continue containment efforts. High winds, low humidity, and warmer temperatures will make firefighting difficult.
A Red Flag Warning was in effect due to dangerous fire conditions.
“We are blessed with the best and the men and women of our fire departments and law enforcement agencies proved it yesterday and overnight,” the county judge said. “They worked tirelessly to assist residents evacuate, protect their homes and wrangle cattle and horses to safety. Please say a prayer for all those affected by this fire and for the men and women first responders working to keep us safe.”
At this point, we don’t know how the fire started, but there is a continuing fire danger because of the high winds and low humidity.
Multiple agencies were at the scene battling the fire from the air and trying to contain it on the ground.
“Air operations will be dropping water. They’ll be taking water from overhead and dropping water,” Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Jason Millsaps said. “The other way to fight fire in this case is to get a line around it. So that’s what the dozers are for. They’ll be going around and drawing protection lines around this to try to contain this fire. And so those are the two options that we’re using at this time. The firefighters on the ground are basically here to ensure those structures are not damaged in this process, and they are protecting those structures if fire encroaches on them, they’ll protect those structures.”
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, winds were gusting between 22 and 25 miles per hour from the northwest, according to KHOU 11 meteorologist Kim Castro. That was pushing smoke toward Cleveland and Liberty County. Drivers on Interstate 69 should expect reduced visibility from the smoky haze.
Millsaps expects crews to be on the scene for quite a while.
“We’re going to continue to be battling this blaze well into the night with the winds,” Millsaps said. “However, the relative humidity is expected to rise every hour through the evening. That will assist us as the fire behavior will start to diminish and we’ll be able to get a better handle on it.”
According to the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management, a controlled burn was being performed by a landowner. They said it was supposed to be a 60-acre fire. It’s unclear if that’s the fire that sparked the wildfire.
The fire was so strong that the heat signal was picked up on radar and satellite imagery.