As Bastrop County begins to recover from Tropical Storm Harvey, its fifth disaster in two years, the county’s Office of Emergency Management is now without a director.

James Gabriel, the county’s emergency management assistant coordinator, who was the office’s acting director, resigned Aug. 31 after two months on the job, saying he did not feel he was the right fit and sensed that county officials felt that way, too. He had been named a temporary replacement for former director Mike Fisher, who died July 4 after a long battle with cancer.

"To be honest with you, it became obvious I was not a very good fit after Mike’s death," Gabriel said Sunday.

He said County Judge Paul Pape "and I talked last week and decided it was time to part ways."

Gabriel said that when he was named acting director rather than given a permanent position, it was clear that Pape, who chairs the commissioners court and serves as lead of the Office of Emergency Management, did not have confidence in his abilities. He said he had struggled to put together a solid team in the wake of Fisher’s death.

"I really wanted to be a part of Bastrop County, but without a good team and judge’s confidence to get that team in order in a very short time, I think I waned," Gabriel said. "Neither of us were 100 percent confident. I wish everybody the best. There are no hard feelings in this."

Gabriel, in his two-month tenure, led the office during a spate of wildfires, a massive oil spill and Harvey, which hit the area as a tropical storm and dropped 23 inches of rain in parts of the county, prompting another disaster declaration for Bastrop.

Pape has said he was proud of Gabriel’s leadership amid the disasters.

"I wish him the best wherever he ends up," Pape said Sunday. "I look forward to bringing on someone else to help guide our OEM."

Though he does not like to discuss personnel matters with the media, Pape clarified that the decision not to name Gabriel as permanent director of emergency management was not because he doubted Gabriel’s abilities. He said it was out of respect for Fisher, who had led the department for 12 years, including during the county’s worst disaster, the 2011 Bastrop Complex Fire.

"Those are some big boots to fill," Pape said. "I didn’t think it would be appropriate to get in a hurry to fill that position."

Pape said it was important to find the right fit for the job, someone who could strengthen relationships with other agencies and promote emergency response education and planning in a county prone to disasters.

"It became evident to me that we did not have that," Pape said. "I am looking forward, as I said, to brighter days in the future and working with someone who can build relationships that are so vital during disasters."

For now, the Office of Emergency Management will begin recovery efforts from Tropical Storm Harvey without a leader.

"The timing is not optimal," Pape said. "But we have great people on our staff that know their job and know what to do and how to respond to disasters and how to begin to recover. We’ll be fine. The wheels are still turning."

The county in the coming days will review the job description for assistant coordinator, which has not been updated since Fisher took on that role in 2006, the first-ever in that position.

"We will post it for anyone who might be interested in performing those duties," Pape said. "I am not going to be in a hurry about it. We will take appropriate time to proceed, review applications, pick the best one available to help us continue to move forward."

In the meantime, Pape will coordinate and manage disaster response.

Gabriel said, since resigning, he has been working with the Texas Emergency Management Assistance Team, a new state agency that helps Texas communities recover from disasters. He helped form the agency with Fisher and other officials from Hays County last year. The group is stationed in Fayette County, helping with flood recovery after more than 500 homes were destroyed when the Colorado River crested above 54 feet on Aug. 28, ravaging the town of La Grange.

"The organization wasn’t really 100 percent ready to go," Gabriel said. "But the need is so great and will be for so long."