Governor Abbott Announces Federal Assistance For Pauline Road Fire

TEXAS, March 20 - March 20, 2025 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the state’s request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties.  

“Texas continues to provide all necessary resources to local officials and firefighters currently battling the Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties,” said Governor Abbott. “This crucial grant will help Texas fight this wildfire and protect the safety and well-being of Texans. I encourage Texans in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties to heed the guidance of local officials and take the necessary precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Texas remains engaged alongside our federal, state, and local partners to ensure our brave firefighters have the resources they need to protect our fellow Texans.” 

The approval of this Fire Management Assistance Grant makes Texas eligible for 75 percent reimbursement from the federal government for costs associated with fighting the Pauline Road Fire. Fire Management Assistance Grants are available to states and local jurisdictions for the mitigation, management, and control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands, which threaten such destruction and would constitute a major disaster.  

At the direction of Governor Abbott, the following state emergency response resources remain engaged to support local wildfire response efforts:

• Texas A&M Forest Service (Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System): Local, state, and out of state firefighters and support personnel, fire engines, bulldozers, and motor graders; federally contracted firefighting aircraft, including large air tankers, single-engine air tankers for retardant drops, air attack platforms for surveillance and spotting, super scoopers for water drops, helicopters with firefighting capability, fire bosses and an aerial supervision module for aerial guidance
• Texas Division of Emergency Management: The State of Texas Incident Management Team to support deployed emergency response resources across the state; Incident Support Task Force and Disaster Recovery Task Force personnel to coordinate activity with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs)
• Texas National Guard: Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters with firefighting capability
• Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Wildland Fire Support Packages consisting of medics, ambulances, and all-terrain vehicles
• Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol Troopers to patrol roadways and assist stranded motorists
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens, State Park Police
• Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2): Type 3 Urban Search and Rescue Teams
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents as well as AgriLife Extension Agents to support agricultural and livestock needs
• Texas Animal Health Commission: Coordinating animal resource needs
• Texas Department of Agriculture: Coordinating agricultural resource needs
• Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel monitoring road conditions
• Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordination with utility providers
• Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring
• Texas Health and Human Services Commission: Personnel to provide information on available services through the 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network
• Texas Department of Information Resources: Monitoring technology infrastructure

Texans can locate wildfire resources, including wildfire tips and information on how to report damage, by visiting the Texas Disaster Portal at disaster.texas.gov. 

Texans whose homes or businesses sustained wildfire damage are also encouraged to report it using TDEM’s online damage survey. The Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage surveys can be filled out in multiple languages at damage.tdem.texas.gov by selecting “2025 Wildfire Incidents.” The information shared through this voluntary tool helps emergency management teams assess the damage and aids officials in connecting impacted Texans with available resources. The iSTAT tool is not a substitute for reporting damages to your insurance provider and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance.

Texans are urged to continue taking all measures to prevent wildfires, including making an emergency plan, avoiding activities that cause sparks, and following instructions from local officials. Texans can visit TexasReady.gov for wildfire tips, tfsweb.tamu.edu for safety information, and tdem.texas.gov to report wildfire damages.  

Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities impacted by wildfires, including:

• Receiving approval from the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) for a Disaster Declaration for the Welder Fire.
• Obtaining approval for a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Double S Fire.
• Requesting a disaster declaration from the SBA for the Welder Fire and requesting a disaster declaration for the North Texas severe storms.
• Obtaining approval for Fire Management Assistance Grants for the Rest Area Fire and Crabapple Fire.
• Activating additional state emergency response resources ahead of extremely critical wildfire danger.
• Obtaining approval for Fire Management Assistance Grants for the Welder Fire and the Duke Fire.
• Requesting officials from the SBA join state and local partners to conduct joint preliminary damage assessments in South Texas communities impacted by recent wildfire activity and in North Texas communities impacted by severe weather.
• Increasing the readiness level of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center in advance of wildfire danger and severe weather threats.
• Activating state emergency response resources ahead of critical fire weather conditions and severe weather threats.