Montgomery County firefighters are battling the 80,000-acre Ross Fire in North Texas. Back home, the county Fire Marshal's Office is urging Woodlands-area residents to halt all outdoor burning during a worsening flash drought.
The Fire Marshal's Office issued a fire safety advisory Wednesday, Aug. 26, confirming that multiple county fire departments sent crews and apparatus to Palo Pinto and Jack counties under the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. Those firefighters will work 14 to 21 days before returning home. The State of Texas covers deployment costs.
The Ross Fire started Monday afternoon, Aug. 24, near the town of Palo Pinto, roughly 60 miles west of Fort Worth. By Wednesday it had grown to 80,000 acres with only 12% containment, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The blaze was 50,000 acres and 5% contained a day earlier.
"We've thrown everything at this, and we're still having minimal effect," Palo Pinto County Fire Chief Danny Watkins told the Associated Press on Tuesday, Aug. 25, as the Los Angeles Times reported.
Fox 4 reported that Gov. Greg Abbott announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to help suppress the blaze. Worth Ranch, a youth scout camp owned by Scouting America's Longhorn Council, sustained what the council called catastrophic damage. No scouts or staff were on the property, and all camp personnel evacuated safely.
What Woodlands-area residents need to know
The advisory, authored by Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams, reminds residents that burning household trash in or around subdivisions and on properties under five acres is prohibited year-round in Montgomery County. Violating that ban is a Class C misdemeanor carrying up to a $500 fine.
Other year-round penalties listed in the advisory:
- Burning on commercial property: fines and jail time, depending on size and nature
- Surface burning of land-clearing debris: escalating fines starting at $1,000 per occurrence
- Illegal dumping or disposal by fire: subject to arrest, escalating to felony charges
The only outdoor burning currently legal in unincorporated Montgomery County is limbs and leaves gathered by a resident on their own property. The Fire Marshal's Office is asking residents to refrain from even that legal burning until conditions improve.
Residents in The Woodlands Township face local regulations that are often more restrictive than unincorporated county rules, according to the advisory.
Drought conditions across Texas
Approximately 77% of Texas is experiencing some level of drought, a 20-percentage-point jump from the prior week, Fox Weather reported. Dallas, San Antonio and Waco had not recorded measurable rainfall since the start of August, each marking their driest beginning to the month on record.
Locally, Montgomery County's wildfire count has stayed low. The few fires that have broken out were quickly extinguished through coordination between local departments and the Texas A&M Forest Service, the advisory stated.
No follow-up advisory date or specific crew return date has been announced beyond the 14-to-21-day deployment window.
