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The nation holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 99 uncontained large fires and more than 27,400 personnel committed, and the President approves a federal emergency declaration for Washington as the Spokane Area Fires destroy hundreds of structures and the Little Giant Fire tops 59,000 acres. Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire pushes Mt. Hood Meadows to Level 3 Go Now evacuations, Idaho’s Tartar Fire passes 107,800 acres, and California’s Gann Fire forces evacuations in Calaveras County. CISA adds three actively exploited vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog, and boil water advisories are in effect in Rockdale County, Georgia and the Trenton, New Jersey area. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.

Key Takeaways

• National wildfire posture: The country remains at Preparedness Level 5 with 99 uncontained large fires, four new large fires and more than 27,400 personnel assigned; 2026 has burned more than 5.25 million acres year to date.

• Washington: A federal emergency declaration and a statewide emergency with a burn ban through September 30 are both in effect; the Spokane Area Fires destroy hundreds of structures with about 640 confirmed in the Old Trails Fire alone, and the Little Giant Fire tops 59,000 acres with Level 3 evacuations near Lake Chelan.

• Oregon: Mt. Hood Meadows and the Elk Mountain zones are under Level 3 Go Now orders as the Grasshopper Fire shifts west; the state nears a record season with more than 2 million acres burned.

• Idaho: The Tartar Fire passes 107,800 acres at 11 percent containment near Weiser; Highway 95 is back open and a Red Cross shelter remains available.

• California: The Gann Fire in Calaveras County reaches roughly 6,495 acres with no containment and multiple evacuation zones ordered.

• Cyber: CISA adds three actively exploited vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog covering Langflow, N-able N-central and Apache Tomcat; remediation should be prioritized.

• Water: Boil water advisories are in effect for northern Rockdale County, Georgia and portions of Ewing and Lawrence townships, New Jersey after main breaks and pressure losses.

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Sources

NIFC and National Fire Situation

• NIFC National Fire News: August 4, 2026 daily report, PL 5, 99 uncontained large fires

FEMA

• FEMA: President approves emergency declaration for Washington wildfires

CISA

• CISA: Three vulnerabilities added to the KEV catalog, August 4

• CISA: One vulnerability added to the KEV catalog, August 3

NHC and Tropics

• National Hurricane Center: Atlantic outlook, no active tropical cyclones

California

• CAL FIRE: Gann Fire incident page

• CBS Sacramento: Gann Fire burns more than 6,400 acres with no containment

Colorado

• Denver7: Colorado wildfire conditions and evacuation updates

Georgia

• On Common Ground News: Rockdale County boil water advisory issued August 4

Hawaii

• USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Kilauea daily update, August 4

• USGS: Kilauea volcano updates

Idaho

• Idaho News 6: Tartar Fire grows to 107,825 acres, 11 percent contained

Minnesota

• NIFC National Fire News: Minnesota large fire count

• MPR News: Minnesota wildfires live updates

Montana

• NIFC National Fire News: Griffin Fire among four new large fires

New Jersey

• Trenton Water Works: Precautionary boil water advisory for portions of Ewing and Lawrence, August 4

Oregon

• KGW: Mt. Hood Meadows under Level 3 Go Now evacuation as Grasshopper Fire approaches

• OPB: Eastern Clackamas County told to prepare to evacuate

• IQAir Newsroom: Big Grass Fire evacuation zones in southeastern Oregon

• KATU: Oregon nears all-time wildfire acreage record as 2026 fires top 2 million acres

Texas

• InciWeb: Bear Hallow Fire incident information

• KTRE: East Texas firefighters sent to aid in Bear Hollow fire

Washington

• FEMA: Emergency declaration for Washington

• Columbia Basin Herald: State resources mobilized as Spokane area fires grow; governor declares statewide emergency

• KHQ: Thousands evacuated, hundreds of structures destroyed in Spokane Area Fires

• NBC News: More than 700 structures lost as 65,000 evacuate in Washington wildfires

• InciWeb: Little Giant Fire incident information

• KPQ: Little Giant Fire tops 59,000 acres, still fully uncontained

• Washington DSHS: Spokane Complex Fires and Washington wildfires emergency updates

Good morning.

The nation remains at preparedness level 5, the highest tier in the federal wildfire system.

The National Interagency Fire center reports 112 new fires yesterday, including four new large fires, with 99 uncontained large fires burning and more than 27,400 personnel assigned nationwide.

The Northwest carries the heaviest load with 50 uncontained large fires across Washington and Oregon.

The President approves an emergency Declaration for Washington authorizing FEMA to coordinate federal response for Chilin Ferry, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens and Yakima counties and the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians.

Year to date, 45,050 fires have burned more than 5.25 million acres, well ahead of the pace in each of the last three years.

On the cyber front, CISA adds three vulnerabilities to the known exploited vulnerabilities, a langflow code injection flaw, an enablencentral authentication bypass and an Apache Tomcat missing encryption issue one day after adding a second EnablenCentral authentication bypass.

All are confirmed under active exploitation and organizations running these products should prioritize remediation.

On the weather side, extreme heat persists across inland California, the Great Basin, the Southwest and the Southern Plains with highs at or above 100 degrees and minimum relative humidity as low as 3 to 15%, driving critical fire weather across much of the West.

A strengthening thermal trough creates high risk fire potential for southwest Oregon, north along the Cascades to the Columbia River Gorge.

In the tropics, the Atlantic stays quiet.

The National Hurricane center is tracking no active tropical cyclones.

Let's run through the states.

California the Gan Fire in Calaveras county burns roughly 6,495 acres with no containment as of Tuesday evening.

The fire starts Monday evening near New Hogan Lake by Hogan Dam and Gan roads and grows rapidly through the day.

Calaveras county officials issue evacuation orders for multiple zones on the east side of the fire, and Cal Fire assigns more than 250 personnel, four helicopters, 50 engines and 16 dozers to the incident.

Colorado Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for communities near the Pueblo and Custer county line, including Rye and San Isabel, as the Aspen Acres fire burns in the area.

Statewide hot and dry conditions, critically low humidity and gusty winds keep fire risk elevated, with major fires this season burning more than 80,000 acres across the state.

Rockdale County Water Resources issues a boil water advisory effective 7:30pm Tuesday for customers in the northern portion of the county residents in the affected area should boil water for drinking and cooking until the advisory is lifted.

Hawaii Kilauea is not currently erupting and holds at alert level advisory with aviation color code yellow.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's Tuesday update keeps the summit eruption in Halemaumaumau paused with glow continuing from the north vent.

Current models forecast episode 53 lava fountaining between August 8 and August 14 we have more to cover this morning, but first a quick word from the sponsor supporting today's episode.

Thanks for supporting the sponsors who help make em morning brief possible.

Now back to this morning's updates.

The Tartar fire in Washington county grows past 107,800 acres with 11% containment, the largest active fire in the state.

The lightning caused Fire burns about 21 miles northwest of Weiser where a complex incident management team directs nearly 600 personnel.

Highway 95 is back open after weekend closures and the Red Cross shelter at the Vendome Event center in Weiser remains available for evacuees.

Minnesota the state remains among the most active fire areas outside the west with six uncontained large fires on the National Situation Report as the statewide peacetime emergency for wildfires continues.

Montana the Griffin Fire in Powder river county is among four new large fires reported nationally.

Montana now carries nine uncontained large fires with hot, dry and unstable conditions and minimum humidity of 10 to 20% forecast across much of the state.

New Jersey a 16 inch water main break on Olden Avenue in Ewing Township drops pressure in parts of the Trenton Waterworks distribution system, prompting a precautionary boil water advisory for portions of Ewing and Lawrence townships.

Customers in the affected areas should boil water for drinking and cooking until further notice.

Oregon the Grasshopper Fire burns nearly 35,000 acres at 17% containment in Wasco and Hood river counties.

The Elk Mountain zones, including the Mount Hood Meadows ski area, move to level three.

Go now.

Evacuation status Tuesday as the fire shifts west and eastern Clackamas county residents are told to prepare to evacuate.

In southeastern Oregon, Level 3 orders remain in effect for Pleasant Valley, South Mountain and Jordan Valley due to the Big Grass Fire.

Texas the bear Hollow Fire in Jack county, which starts Monday, burns roughly 900 acres as Texas A&M Forest Service commits additional firefighters, heavy equipment and aviation resources.

East Texas departments send crews to assist with suppression efforts.

The state is under both a federal emergency declaration and a statewide emergency proclaimed by Gov Bob Ferguson, whose order includes A ban on most outdoor burning through September 30th authorizes additional national Guard activation and opens the door to interstate resource requests.

The Spokane area fires, including the Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, burn A combined 8,026 acres in Spokane and Stevens counties with no containment.

Fire Officials confirm about 640 structures destroyed in the Old Trail's fire alone, with news reports placing combined losses above 700 as damage assessments continue.

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office reports all 14 people previously unaccounted for are safe and some evacuation zones are downgraded.

Tuesday in North Central Washington, the Little Giant fire grows past 59,000 acres with no containment in Chelin and Okanogan counties.

The fire reaches Lake Chilin and spots across the water, prompting Level 3 evacuations for the Chihuahua and Tyee ridges and the Chilin Mountains.

That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.

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