West Virginia declares emergency in all 55 counties after flash flooding; Hawaii power restoration passes 86 percent as Lala tracks through Papahanaumokuakea

Today’s EM Morning Brief covers a West Virginia State of Emergency spanning all 55 counties after three days of flash flooding, mudslides and water rescues, plus a separate countywide declaration and school closures in Kanawha County. In Hawaii, roughly 33,600 customers remain without power nine days after Lala, with boil water and essential-needs notices still active on Hawaii Island and an East Maui community cut off by a washed-out bridge. The national wildfire picture stays at Preparedness Level 5 with 76 uncontained large fires and 3.7 million acres burning, driving evacuations in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, New Mexico and Alaska. Also in this episode: Indiana’s derecho recovery under a federal Emergency Declaration, cleanup and EPA air monitoring at the Glenpool pipeline tank fire in Oklahoma, four new CISA known exploited vulnerabilities under the new BOD 26-04 model, and dangerous heat across the Desert Southwest. 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

• West Virginia statewide emergency: All 55 counties are under a 30-day State of Emergency after Aug 16 to 18 flash flooding and mudslides. Kanawha County declared its own emergency, Metro 911 logged 2,100 calls and 60 water rescues Sunday, and 10 schools in the Riverside High attendance area are closed for the first three days of the school year.

• Hawaii lifelines: Roughly 33,600 customers remain without power statewide, with about 24,400 on Hawaii Island. Boil water in Pahala, an essential-needs-only water notice countywide, four potable water tanker sites, low pressure in upper metropolitan Honolulu, and intermittent Oahu cellular service all remain active. Lower Nahiku in East Maui is cut off by a washed-out bridge.

• Hurricane Lala still active: As of the Tuesday late-morning advisory, Lala carried 105 mph winds with a Hurricane Watch for Papahanaumokuakea from Lisianski Island to Maro Reef and a forecast of large surf inundating low-lying atolls beginning Wednesday.

• Wildfire posture: National Preparedness Level 5, 76 uncontained large fires, 3,736,566 acres on active incidents, and year-to-date acreage at 168 percent of the ten-year average. Australian and New Zealand crews and 240 Army soldiers are supporting operations.

• Highest-risk fires with evacuations: Little Giant, Washington (134,635 acres, 10 percent); Three Queens, Washington (Level 3 GO around Cooper Lake); Grasshopper, Oregon (90,667 acres, 49 percent, 22 structures lost); Hagen, Oregon (56,869 acres, 17 percent); Sand Creek, Montana (31,652 acres, 1 percent); Frijoles, New Mexico (11,335 acres, 9 percent, Cundiyo upgraded to Set); Mukluk, Alaska (Level 3 GO evacuations, about 20 homes damaged).

• Indiana derecho recovery: Seven confirmed storm deaths, 98,824 customers out as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, and 53 counties covered under federal Emergency Declaration EM-3651 for Public Assistance. NIPSCO targets full restoration by late Friday.

• Hazmat: Glenpool, Oklahoma tank farm cleanup continues with EPA-coordinated fence-line air monitoring. Shelter-in-place lifted, but a voluntary evacuation recommendation remains between 126th and 131st Streets South.

• Cyber: Four new CISA known exploited vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft IKE, Microsoft SharePoint, Broadcom VMware vCenter and Apple macOS. Federal agencies now prioritize under BOD 26-04, a risk-based model rather than a uniform patch deadline. Two ICS advisories also issued, including one for CISA’s own Malcolm network monitoring suite.

• Heat: Extreme Heat Warnings run through Friday across Arizona, southern Nevada and inland southern California. Maricopa County has confirmed 81 heat deaths this year, more than double last year’s pace at the same date.

• Water systems: New boil water advisory in McCormick County, South Carolina. St. Louis and West Columbia, South Carolina advisories both lifted Tuesday.

• Assistance: Five Disaster Service Centers opened Tuesday in Mississippi for Tropical Storm Arthur survivors under DR-4930, serving Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties.

Sources

Cedric: 00:00:00

Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief

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: 00:00:02

for Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

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Before todays brief I want to remind

you to get EM Morning Brief delivered

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directly to your favorite podcast player.

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Link is in the show notes below

or search EM Morning Brief.

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: 00:00:16

Let’s get to it.

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Hawaii remains the largest

lifeline event in the country.

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Nine days after Lala came ashore, Hawaiian

Electric reports roughly 33,600 customers

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still without power statewide as of 8 p.m.

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Tuesday, with Hawaii Island carrying

about 24,400 of that total across Puna,

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Kona, Kohala, Hamakua and South Hilo.

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The utility expects 95 percent

statewide restoration by Friday, but

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says remote and severely damaged areas

of the south end of Hawaii Island

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could take at least two more weeks.

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Roughly 100 mainland crew

members begin work this week.

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Lala itself is still a hurricane,

tracking west through the

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Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

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The Central Pacific Hurricane Center's

Tuesday late-morning advisory carried

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maximum sustained winds near 105

miles per hour with a Hurricane

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Watch for Papahanaumokuakea Marine

National Monument from Lisianski

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Island to Maro Reef, and warned that

large surf would likely inundate

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low-lying atolls beginning Wednesday.

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The national wildfire picture

stays at Preparedness Level

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5, the top of the scale.

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The National Interagency Coordination

Center's Tuesday situation report

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counts 76 uncontained large fires and

3,736,566 acres burning across active

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incidents in nine geographic areas.

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Year to date the country stands at

49,242 fires and 7,278,622 acres, which

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the report frames as 168 percent of

the ten-year average for acres burned.

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The Northwest is the busiest area

with 34 uncontained large fires.

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International help is on the ground: 196

fireline personnel from Australia and

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New Zealand are supporting Northwest and

Great Basin incidents, and 240 soldiers

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out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord are

assigned to a fire in eastern Washington.

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On the storm and cyber side, West

Virginia's governor declared a State of

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Emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday

after three days of flash flooding

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and mudslides, and Indiana continues

recovery from the August 11 derecho

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under a federal Emergency Declaration.

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CISA added four exploited vulnerabilities

to its catalog Tuesday, covering

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Microsoft, Broadcom and Apple products,

and is now pointing federal agencies

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to Binding Operational Directive 26-04,

a risk-based prioritization model

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rather than a uniform patch deadline.

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Dangerous heat continues across

the Desert Southwest, where

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Maricopa County has now confirmed

81 heat-related deaths this year.

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Let's run through the states.

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Alaska: The Mukluk Fire at Tok

is the state's priority incident.

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Alaska Division of Forestry and

Fire Protection reported the fire

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at roughly 3,000 acres Tuesday

morning with about 20 homes damaged

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and more structures threatened.

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Level 3 GO evacuations remain in

force north of the Alaska Highway

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from Mackenzie Trail to East 5th

Street, including Red Fox Drive.

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Forestry warns of downed powerlines,

falling trees and ash pits inside

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the closure, and an incident

management team is inbound.

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The fire started Monday near Sundog

Trail, and members of the local

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forestry staff lost their own homes.

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Arizona: An Extreme Heat Warning

runs through Friday evening across

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the southern and western counties,

with afternoon highs of 108 to

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112 forecast in the Phoenix area.

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The Maricopa County Office of the

Medical Examiner has confirmed 81

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heat-related deaths this year, against

35 at the same point last year,

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with 587 more deaths still under

investigation as possibly heat-related.

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The county's Heat Relief Network and

free transport to cooling centers through

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211 remain the operational response.

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California: Two fires

carry active evacuations.

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: 00:04:16

The MP18 Fire in Humboldt County,

north of Hoopa, is 6,914 acres and

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19 percent contained, with evacuation

orders and warnings in place,

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Highway 96 closed, and structures and

communications infrastructure threatened.

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: 00:04:30

The Timber Fire southeast of Big Sur

in Monterey County is 5,189 acres

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and 21 percent contained, with fire

behavior downgraded to minimal.

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Three Monterey County evacuation

zones were reduced from orders

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to warnings Tuesday afternoon.

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Highway 1 remains closed between Big Sur

and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and

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a shelter is open at Carmel Middle School.

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Colorado: The National Weather Service

in Pueblo issued a Flash Flood Watch

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early this morning for the Aspen Acres

burn scar, the Wet Mountains and the

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Pueblo vicinity, in effect from 1 p.m.

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to 8 p.m.

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today.

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The office warns that flash

flooding and debris flows over

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the burn scar remain possible.

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The Aspen Acres Fire itself is 102,004

acres at 72 percent containment

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with 915 structures lost, and

area closures remain in effect.

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Hawaii: Beyond the power picture, Hawaii

County's Department of Water Supply has

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restored service to Pahala under a boil

water notice until further notice, and an

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essential-needs-only water notice remains

in effect for all county customers.

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Potable water tankers are staged

at four sites on Hawaii Island,

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and the emergency shelter at

Naalehu Elementary gym stays open.

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On Oahu, the Board of Water Supply reports

low to no pressure in upper metropolitan

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Honolulu with four fill stations open, and

cellular service is still intermittent.

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Public schools statewide resume normal

operations today, with two Kau-area

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campuses closed through Thursday.

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In East Maui, the only access bridge

to Lower Nahiku washed out, isolating

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residents from road access to supplies.

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The Health Department has issued a

spoiled-food warning, and Human Services

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is offering SNAP replacement benefits

for food lost to extended outages.

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Idaho: The Big Grass Fire, straddling

the Oregon and Idaho line southwest

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of Jordan Valley, is 579,134

acres and 82 percent contained.

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Evacuations and area closures

remain in effect, with an estimated

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containment date of Saturday.

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Zone-level status in Owyhee County should

be confirmed with the sheriff's office.

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Indiana: Recovery from the

August 11 derecho remains the

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state's dominant operation.

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The Indiana Department of

Homeland Security reports seven

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: 00:06:52

storm-related deaths as of 2 p.m.

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Tuesday across Delaware, Jennings,

Lake, LaPorte, Henry and Porter

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counties, with an eighth Monroe

County death still undetermined.

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Statewide outages stood at 98,824

customers at that same hour.

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The federal Emergency Declaration,

EM-: 3651

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counties for Public Assistance.

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NIPSCO, which calls this the largest

outage event in its history, targets

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full restoration of remaining customers

by late Friday, with a dozen named

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communities restoring by 5 p.m.

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today.

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The Indiana National Guard is activated.

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Kansas: The Weather Service in Kansas

City issued a Flash Flood Warning

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early this morning for Leavenworth and

Wyandotte counties after two to four

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inches of rain, in effect until 9:15 a.m.

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Central.

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Storms had pushed south and

weakened by the time of the update.

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Mississippi: Five Disaster Service Centers

opened at noon Tuesday for survivors

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of Tropical Storm Arthur under DR-4930,

staffed by MEMA with FEMA and Small

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Business Administration specialists.

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Individual Assistance covers Hancock,

Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties.

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The centers are in Kiln, Biloxi,

Saucier, Poplarville and Wiggins.

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Missouri: St.

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Louis lifted its precautionary

boil water advisory at 7:15 a.m.

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Tuesday after testing

verified no contamination.

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: 00:08:18

The advisory had covered three areas

across North City, South City and Midtown

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following storm-related power problems

at the Chain of Rocks treatment plant.

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The Kansas City metro flash flood

warning also covered Clay, Jackson

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and Platte counties this morning.

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: 00:08:34

Montana: The Sand Creek Fire east of

Wisdom in Beaverhead County is 31,652

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acres and just 1 percent contained, with

evacuations and road closures in effect

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and numerous structures threatened.

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The nearby Bobcat Lakes Fire

is 9,791 acres at 10 percent.

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A new large incident, the Sarpy Fire

on the Crow Agency east of Hardin,

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is 900 acres at zero containment.

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We have more to cover this morning, but

first, a quick word from our sponsors.

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Thanks for supporting the sponsors who

help make EM Morning Brief possible.

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Now, back to this morning’s updates.

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Nevada: The Shoshone Fire in Churchill

County, about 60 miles northeast of

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Fallon, grew sharply overnight Monday

to Tuesday and is now 13,542 acres at

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zero containment with 179 personnel

and five helicopters assigned.

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The lightning-caused fire

is moving south and east.

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No evacuations or structure

losses are reported.

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: 00:09:34

The Bug Fire near Carson City

is 87 percent contained and

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transferring back to local command.

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: 00:09:40

New Mexico: The Frijoles Fire in Santa

Fe and Rio Arriba counties grew 1,997

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acres in one operational period to

11,335 acres at 9 percent containment.

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Cundiyo outside Camino de Canon and

Cerro Pinon moved up to Set status

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Tuesday, Camino de Canon remains at

Go, and Borrego Mesa, Nambe Pueblo

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Lake and Cordova remain at Ready.

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New Mexico 503 is closed between County

Road 98 and State Road 76, and a new Pecos

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Wilderness area closure is in effect.

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: 00:10:12

Oklahoma: Cleanup continues at the

Explorer Pipeline tank farm in Glenpool

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after a suspected lightning strike

ignited a natural gasoline storage

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: 00:10:21

tank Monday morning and the fire

spread to three of the site's 31 tanks.

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The Glenpool Fire Department has moved

to a supporting role while contract

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fire and hazard control teams handle

removal of wastewater from the site.

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Fence-line air monitoring continues

in coordination with EPA and has shown

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: 00:10:39

no contamination in surrounding areas.

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: 00:10:43

The shelter-in-place was lifted

Monday afternoon, but a voluntary

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evacuation recommendation remains

active between 126th and 131st Streets

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South from Elwood Avenue to Highway 75.

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No injuries were reported.

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Oregon: Oregon has the most

large fires of any state.

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: 00:11:01

The Grasshopper Fire southwest of Dufur

is 90,667 acres at 49 percent containment

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: 00:11:07

with 22 structures lost, and evacuations

and closures remain in effect across

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: 00:11:12

Wasco, Clackamas and Hood River counties.

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: 00:11:15

The Hagen Fire east of Pendleton

is 56,869 acres at 17 percent with

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: 00:11:21

evacuations in effect, and command

transferred to a Southern Area team today.

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: 00:11:26

The Paradise Fire east of Milton-Freewater

is 5,333 acres at zero containment.

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: 00:11:32

On the Rowe Creek Complex south of

Fossil, now 89 percent contained,

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: 00:11:36

State Fire Marshal structure protection

resources have fully demobilized as

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the threat to communities diminished.

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South Carolina: McCormick County

Water and Sewer issued a boil water

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advisory Tuesday evening after a water

main break, covering residents along

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Highway 28 South from Earl Pete Lane

to the Lost Wilderness subdivision.

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Residents should boil water one

full minute until testing clears.

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West Columbia lifted its own

boil water advisory at: 12:56

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Tuesday after repairs and clear samples.

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: 00:12:10

South Dakota: Governor Larry Rhoden

signed Executive Order: 2026

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expanding South Dakota Wildland Fire's

assistance and aviation resources to

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rural fire departments outside the Black

Hills Forest Fire Protection District.

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The order also extends hay-hauling

flexibility through November 15.

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The state has recorded 99 fires

this season, with 12 active fires

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burning more than 13,859 acres.

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Utah: Evacuations were lifted on

both major Utah fires Tuesday.

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Millard County residents evacuated

for the Widemouth 2 Fire, now 129,741

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acres at 91 percent containment,

were cleared to return with advice to

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stay ready to leave on short notice.

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In Summit County, Henefer residents

evacuated for the Rocky Canyon

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Fire, 16,464 acres at 85 percent,

were also cleared to return.

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Federal reporting still lists numerous

residences threatened on Rocky Canyon,

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so the threat is not fully retired.

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: 00:13:12

Washington: The Little Giant Fire

northwest of Leavenworth grew another

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1,645 acres to 134,635 and remains

only 10 percent contained, with 26

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structures lost and evacuations, area

and road closures in effect under a

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Chelan County emergency declaration.

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The Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket is

the state's largest at 153,843 acres and

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44 percent contained with 35 structures

lost, though fire behavior has moderated.

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The Three Queens Fire east of Snoqualmie

Pass is 3,636 acres at 2 percent,

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with Level 3 GO evacuations around

Cooper Lake and 36 trails closed,

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including the Pacific Crest Trail from

Snoqualmie Pass to Deception Pass.

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Wisconsin: Severe storms crossed

southeastern Wisconsin Tuesday

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evening, downing trees and power lines.

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We Energies reported 40,085

customers without power at 10 p.m.,

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with 22,578 in Milwaukee County,

11,318 in Waukesha County and

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2,477 in Washington County.

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Milwaukee Public Works crews

worked to clear trees overnight.

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West Virginia: Governor Patrick Morrisey

declared a State of Emergency for all

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55 counties Tuesday following three days

of slow-moving storms, flash flooding,

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mudslides and widespread water rescues.

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The declaration runs 30 days

and is separate from a July

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declaration for 12 counties that

was extended through September 19.

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In Kanawha County, the commission

issued its own countywide emergency:

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Metro 911 handled 2,100 calls Sunday,

dispatching responders on 850 of

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them, including 60 water rescues.

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Ten schools in the Riverside High

attendance area stay closed for the first

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three days of the school year starting

today, with buildings open as resource

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sites and three-day food boxes available.

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In Harrison County, damage assessments

are underway and highway crews

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are repairing flood-damaged roads.

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: 00:15:17

Wyoming: The Weiser Knoll Fire southeast

of Lander reached full containment and

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: 00:15:21

all area closures were lifted Tuesday.

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: 00:15:24

The fire, which started August 9

from a mechanical failure on a towed

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trailer, burned about 15,817 acres

nd was the state's largest of: 2026

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Cause remains under investigation.

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All other states and territories have no

significant updates in the last 24 hours.

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That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.

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New episodes drop Monday through

Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T.,

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so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

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Subscribe on the Emergency Management

Network on Substack, or follow

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on your favorite podcast player.

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EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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