As of press time Friday, Polk County remained under a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston meaning that critical fire weather conditions exist due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures that create explosive fire growth potential.
On Thursday, County Judge Sydney Murphy signed a local disaster declaration and order prohibiting outdoor for the unincorporated areas of the county due to the elevated fire weather conditions and threat of wildfire.
The Texas A&M Forest Service responded to nine new requests for assistance on Thursday on wildfires burning 175 acres across the state.
Just to the southwest of Polk County, officials in both San Jacinto and Montgomery counties issued evacuation orders due to the Pauline Road Fire, which is burning in the Sam Houston National Forest, and as of press time, had burned over 2,000 acres.
As of noon Friday, the Pauline Road Fire was officially at 65% contained and had made zero forward progress, though crews remained on scene to continue with mop up and shore up containment. There is a line completely around the fire and the Texas A&M Forest Service will continue to mop up and shore up the lines over the weekend taking full advantage of the weather that is on their side.
As of mid-day Friday, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported that there are currently 147 counties with burn bans in place.
