For years, when west Montgomery County crews needed extra water, cots, blankets or other emergency supplies after a storm, the backup plan was simple but risky: go to Conroe and get it.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said that worked when the west side of the county was smaller and easier to navigate. But after Hurricane Harvey, multiple winter storms, floods, tornadoes and a wildfire—and with Precinct 2 now home to about 190,000 residents—he said the distance started to become a problem.
“One of these days, we weren’t going to be able to get there,” Riley said. “And if we were to get there, it’d be four or five days after the fact.”
Now, Precinct 2 is nearly finished with a $1.4 million emergency management building on its county barn property—paid for by using American Rescue Plan Act funds—that Riley said should be online around May 1. The site includes an 8,000-square-foot building, a 2,300-square-foot canopy, a backup generator and room for emergency supplies such water, blankets and basic medical items.
Two-minute impact
The building is not meant to change what happens while a storm is still hitting, Riley said. Crews still have to wait, assess damage, clear roads and respond to fires or debris before opening the site to residents. But he said the goal is to have a base much closer to Magnolia-area communities instead of making repeated supply runs.
That matters, he said, because Precinct 2 already knows where trouble usually starts. Spring Creek crossings are often among the first to flood, and residents along roads such as Egypt Road can end up stuck until water drops. Riley said the new site gives those residents a more direct place to go once roads reopen and response work is underway.
He also added that during natural disasters, about 50 staff members will man the emergency building.
The need is backed by the county’s disaster history. Montgomery County’s past disaster declarations include hurricanes Ike, Harvey and Beryl, Tropical Storm Imelda and the 2021 Winter Storm Uri.
Riley said the building is ultimately about cutting out wasted time.
“We’re already here, and it’s already here,” he said. “Everything’s here.”
What residents should know
Precinct 2’s building is one piece of a broader county effort to spread emergency resources beyond Conroe.
Jason Millsaps, executive director of Montgomery County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said identical supply warehouses are coming online in Precincts 2 and 4 to help reach areas that are harder to serve quickly from Conroe when roads are flooded or blocked by debris.
“Instead of having it coming from Conroe and having to transfer [to] the county during either a hurricane, where trees are in blocking roadways [or] flood, where the roads are closed, we have stuff in those areas that are harder for us to serve in an immediate situation from Conroe,” Millsaps said.
He said each smaller warehouse is designed to hold enough sheltering and point-of-distribution supplies for about 500 people, as well as give the county three stockpiles to pull from during a countywide event.
In Precinct 4, Commissioner Matt Gray said the county also recently added a fire-rated bulldozer that has already been used to help firefighters clear debris and create fire breaks during wildfire response. He said the goal, like the new warehouses, is to get response tools closer to where they may be needed.
County officials have also updated emergency management training this year, as previously reported by Community Impact, part of what Millsaps described as a larger effort to prepare for future disasters.
Quotes of note
- “It gives us greater efficiency to be able to move quickly to meet the needs of the community in the event of a crisis. That’s what it does.” —Mark Keough, Montgomery County Judge
- “These facilities really assist us with making sure the constituents in that area have the immediate resources they need during disasters.” —Jason Millsaps, executive director, MCOHSEM
Breaking it down
The county’s disaster history helps explain why officials are paying closer attention to where supplies are stored.
Riley said each storm has added another lesson about time, access and traffic. He said flooded roads in Precinct 2 and evacuation backups during Hurricane Rita serve as reminders that both residents and responders can get trapped when roads choke with water, debris or cars.
Millsaps said that is exactly why the county placed new supply hubs in Precincts 2 and 4 instead of in Precincts 1 and 3—where Conroe can already be easily reached. I-45 has remained usable in major events, but roads such as FM 1488 and FM 1485 can create bigger barriers when the county is trying to push supplies east or west, he said.
“As events occur and we have to use it, we’ll just replenish it from the main hub,” Millsaps said.
Why it matters
As hurricane season nears, Riley said residents should plan for wind and high water, stock up early and not wait until the last minute.
An April 9 forecast from Colorado State University calls for six forecasted hurricanes, with two considered major.
