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EMN Morning Brief: September 9, 2026 - DescriptKauai grid down for 33,000 after Lowell; CISA adds four exploited flaws; Des Moines flash flooding and Big Sur fire gains
Episode 254 • 9th September 2026 • EM Morning Brief • Brian Colburn
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Today’s EM Morning Brief leads with Hawaii, where Tropical Storm Lowell has pulled away but left roughly 33,000 Kauai Island Utility Cooperative members without power, disabled municipal water pumps, and triggered an islandwide brown water advisory. We cover the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s watch level for Kilauea, CISA’s addition of four actively exploited vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and a national wildfire picture holding at Preparedness Level 4 with 64 uncontained large fires. State coverage includes overnight flash flooding across the Des Moines metropolitan area, containment gains on the Plaskett Fire near Big Sur, reduced evacuation levels in Kittitas County, a new large fire in San Saba County, Texas, and boil water advisories in Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and West Virginia. 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

  • Hawaii lifelines: About 33,000 Kauai households remain without power, water pumps are offline under an islandwide conservation notice, and a Department of Health brown water advisory closes coastal waters. Outages could run several days or longer.
  • Kilauea watch: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory holds Kilauea at Orange, Watch, with episode 55 forecast to begin between September 8 and 10.
  • Cyber: CISA added four actively exploited vulnerabilities affecting Adobe Commerce and Magento, Microsoft Windows, and N able N central. Federal agencies face binding remediation deadlines, and the same guidance applies to state and local networks.
  • Wildfire posture: National Preparedness Level 4, with 64 uncontained large fires, 15,025 personnel, 15 complex teams committed, and international support from Australia and New Zealand.
  • Iowa flooding: Overnight flash flooding across the Des Moines metropolitan area with two to four and a half inches of rain, moderate flooding on Walnut Creek, and rising river stages that will add closures through the day.
  • Evacuation changes: Kittitas County, Washington reduced evacuation levels in three areas around the Three Queens and Goat fires. Evacuations continue in Oregon on the McCully, Austin, and Narrows incidents.
  • New large fire: The Kurk Fire in San Saba County, Texas started yesterday evening at 1,000 acres and 10 percent containment.
  • Heat: Extreme Heat Warnings cover Southern California, metro Phoenix, Yuma, the Las Vegas Valley, and northeast Oklahoma into western Arkansas, with heat index values to 112.
  • Water systems: Boil water advisories are active in Purcellville, Virginia, Haughton, Louisiana, McCormick County, South Carolina, Childress, Texas, and several West Virginia communities.
  • Assistance deadlines: Mississippi’s SBA deadline for Tropical Storm Arthur damage is October 3. Kansas and Missouri physical damage applications close November 2. Tennessee has requested federal assistance for Shelby County.

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Descript, Edit video by editing text - https://link.bcolburn.com/DB-Descript

ESET, Cyber Security Progress. Protected. - https://refer.eset.com/hip7r

Sources

DHS

CISA

FEMA

Wildfire, national

Weather and tropical

Volcano and seismic

Alaska

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Florida

Hawaii

Idaho

Iowa

Kansas

Louisiana

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wyoming

Guam

Transcripts

Cedric:

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

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for Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

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Hawaii dominates the national picture.

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Lowell weakened to a tropical storm

overnight and is moving away from the

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islands, but Kauai County and Oahu

sustained severe damage, and roughly

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33,000 Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

members, about 90 percent of the

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membership, remain without power.

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Crews are inspecting about 1,500

miles of line and warn some outages

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could last several days or longer.

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The state emergency management agency

is urging residents to limit travel,

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treat every downed line as live, and

inspect damaged property before reentry.

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Separately, the Hawaiian Volcano

Observatory holds Kilauea at Orange,

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Watch, with a forecast window of

September 8 through 10 for the

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start of eruption episode 55.

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The wildfire picture stays busy

at National Preparedness Level 4.

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The federal situation report counts

64 uncontained large fires and 15,025

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personnel assigned, with 15 complex

incident management teams committed.

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Two 15 member teams and 212 fireline

personnel from Australia and New Zealand

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are supporting the Northwest and Great

Basin, and five MAFFS equipped C 130

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airtankers are staged in California.

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Year to date, more than 53,600

fires have burned in excess of 8.3

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million acres.

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On the cyber and heat fronts: CISA

added four vulnerabilities to the Known

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Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog,

covering Adobe Commerce and Magento,

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two Microsoft Windows flaws, and N able

N central, all with active exploitation

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and federal remediation deadlines.

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Extreme Heat Warnings cover Southern

California, metro Phoenix, Yuma,

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the Las Vegas Valley, and eastern

Oklahoma into western Arkansas.

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Red flag warnings are up across

Wyoming and fire weather watches

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across Montana and North Dakota.

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The Department of Homeland Security has no

active National Terrorism Advisory System

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advisories, and the National Hurricane

Center reports no tropical cyclones

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in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific.

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Let’s run through the states.

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Alaska: The National Weather Service

in Fairbanks issued High Wind Warnings

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early this morning for the Bering

Strait Coast, Shishmaref, Diomede, St.

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Lawrence Island, and the Western Arctic

Coast, with southwest winds of 30 to

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45 miles per hour and gusts to 65.

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Forecasters cite power

outages and difficult travel.

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High Surf Advisories run through Friday

night for a long stretch of western

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coastline, with water levels two to

four feet above the normal high tide

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line and localized beach erosion.

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A hydrologic outlook from Anchorage

warns that high water on the Kuskokwim

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combined with strong southerly winds

could push bankfull or minor flooding

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from Bethel south to Napakiak.

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Arizona: Extreme Heat Warnings took

effect this morning across the Phoenix

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metropolitan zones through Thursday

evening, and through Friday evening

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for Yuma, the Parker and Palo Verde

valleys, and central La Paz County.

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The warning area also includes Lake

Havasu, Fort Mohave, and the Arizona

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sides of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave.

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No county heat relief activation

has been posted in the window.

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California: On the Los Padres National

Forest, the Plaskett Fire southwest

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of Big Sur is at 29,862 acres and

61 percent contained, a significant

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gain, with 1,879 personnel assigned.

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The Timber Fire southeast of Big

Sur holds at 25,380 acres and

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27 percent, with residences and

communication infrastructure threatened.

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State Route 1 remains closed for

roughly nine miles north of the San

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Luis Obispo county line at Kirk Creek.

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In Orange County, Los Angeles County

Fire and La Habra police responded late

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yesterday morning to an orange smoke

plume at an industrial chemical plant in

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the 500 block of South Cypress Street.

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Hazardous materials teams verified

control of the leak, the plume dissipated,

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air monitoring continues, and the city

reports no active risk to residents.

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Extreme Heat Warnings cover Los

Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Diego,

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Riverside, San Bernardino, and

Imperial counties, and coastal flood

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advisories were issued for the Bay Area,

Monterey Bay, and the Big Sur coast.

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Connecticut: The governor opened

the application period for 52.9

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million dollars in federal

agricultural disaster relief covering

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2023 and 2024 weather losses.

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Round one closes October 7.

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Florida: Miami International Airport

evacuated gates D30 through D41,

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the Concourse D Skytrain, and

a security checkpoint yesterday

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morning over a suspicious item.

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An all clear came about 10:40 a.m.

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and the areas reopened.

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The Streamsong Fire in Polk County reached

100 percent containment at 300 acres.

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Hawaii: Beyond the power outages, the

Kauai Department of Water issued an

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islandwide conservation notice because

outages disabled municipal pumps

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and wells, and asked all customers

to limit use to essential needs to

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prevent system wide pressure loss.

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The state Department of Health issued

an islandwide brown water advisory for

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Kauai after runoff carried sewage, animal

waste, and chemical debris into coastal

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waters, harbors, and drainage outlets.

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Ocean Safety advises against all

marine recreation until further notice.

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About 300 people were sheltering across

five Kauai sites yesterday morning.

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The utility restored 466 members in

Eleele and Hanapepe and is prioritizing

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critical infrastructure and high density

areas, with mutual aid crews mobilizing

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from Hawaiian Electric under the Western

Regional Mutual Assistance Agreement.

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Hurricane and tropical storm warnings for

Kauai County and Oahu have been cancelled.

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A flood watch remains for the Big Island.

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Idaho: The Crooked Fire east of

Idaho City is at 10,084 acres and 68

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percent contained, up eight points,

with structures threatened and area,

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road, and trail closures in effect.

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Iowa: The National Weather Service in

Des Moines ran a series of flash flood

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warnings across the metro from early

evening through daybreak, with two to

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four and a half inches of rain observed

and additional heavy rain overnight.

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Walnut Creek at 63rd Street

reached moderate flood stage and

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is forecast to crest near 14.9

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feet late this morning.

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The Raccoon River at Fleur Drive is rising

toward a forecast crest of about 13.3

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feet, with flooding expected

to continue into the weekend.

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The City of Des Moines reports

George Flagg Parkway closed from

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Southwest 30th Street to Park

Avenue, and says police and fire have

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been actively assisting residents.

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Additional closures are tied to river

stages not yet reached, so expect the

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closure list to grow through the day.

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Kansas: The Small Business Administration

published loan deadlines for the

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September 1 public assistance

declaration covering June flooding in

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30 counties plus two tribal nations.

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Physical damage applications

close November 2, economic

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injury applications June 1, 2027.

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Louisiana: Bossier Parish issued a

boil advisory yesterday evening for

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Village Water System customers in the

Stewart Road area of Haughton after

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a contractor damaged a two inch line.

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Repairs are complete and

samples are at the state lab.

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Michigan: Detroit continues recovery on

the lower east side under the mayor’s

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September 4 local emergency following

an EF 2 tornado, with crews clearing

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downed trees in Districts 4 and 5

and several streets still impassable.

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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 our sponsors who

help make EM Morning Brief possible.

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Now, back to this morning’s updates.

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Mississippi: The state emergency

management agency reminded residents of

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an October 3 deadline for federal disaster

loans tied to Tropical Storm Arthur

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damage in June, covering four primary

counties and six adjacent counties.

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Missouri: The Small Business

Administration published matching

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deadlines for the September 1 public

assistance declaration covering

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July flooding in nine counties.

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Physical damage applications

close November 2.

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Montana: Fire weather watches are posted

for eastern and central counties, with

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west winds gusting to 30 miles per

hour and humidity as low as 11 percent.

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The Nature Grove Fire southeast of

Hamilton sits at 1,422 acres with zero

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containment and structures threatened.

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Nebraska: A flash flood warning

covered the Omaha metropolitan area

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and surrounding counties overnight

after one to two inches of rain,

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and was cancelled before daybreak.

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No official source has

confirmed closures or rescues.

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Oklahoma: The Tulsa forecast office

reissued an Extreme Heat Warning

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for heat index values up to 112

across northeast Oklahoma and

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the Fort Smith area of Arkansas,

valid midday through this evening.

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A separate heat advisory covers central

and southwestern Oklahoma including

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the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

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Oregon: Evacuations remain in effect

on the McCully Fire northwest of Baker

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City, now 13,545 acres and 59 percent

contained, and on the Austin Fire and

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The Narrows southeast of Estacada.

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On the Umatilla National Forest,

the Paradise Fire is at 9,654 acres

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and 28 percent with 961 personnel,

and the Hagen Fire at 61,385 acres

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and 60 percent, both threatening

residences and critical infrastructure.

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The Grasshopper Fire southwest

of Dufur holds at 93,990 acres

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and 93 percent contained.

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Pennsylvania: The state emergency

management daily operations report

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shows the Clinton County emergency

operations center at partial activation

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for adverse weather and the City of

Erie center activated, with statewide

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outages down to about 500 customers.

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A multi agency resource center for

flood affected residents of Centre,

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Clinton, and Lycoming counties

opens tomorrow in Beech Creek.

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South Carolina: McCormick County issued

a boil water advisory after a main break,

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covering residents along Highway 10 from

the county line and the Town of Troy.

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South Dakota: The Lookout Fire near

Spearfish is holding at 443 acres with

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no containment and voluntary evacuations,

and one northbound lane of Interstate 90

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is closed between mileposts 10 and 12.

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On the Pine Ridge Reservation, the

Needles Fire has grown past 6,000

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acres at 60 percent containment

with no homes threatened.

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Tennessee: The state emergency management

agency announced yesterday afternoon that

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Tennessee has requested federal individual

and public assistance for Shelby

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County following August severe storms.

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An air quality alert covering

Shelby, DeSoto, and Crittenden

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counties was reissued this morning

and runs through late afternoon.

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Texas: The Texas A&M Forest Service

reported a new large fire yesterday

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evening, the Kurk Fire northeast

of Cherokee in San Saba County,

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at 1,000 acres and 10 percent

contained with 62 personnel assigned.

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The Ross Fire near Palo Pinto

holds at 90,400 acres and 57

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percent, with 157 structures lost

and no evacuations in effect.

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A flight restriction

remains over the fire.

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The City of Childress issued

a boil water notice after low

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disinfectant residuals, which

officials attributed to extreme heat.

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Heat advisories cover roughly 40 north

Texas counties, and the Rio Grande Valley

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faces heat index values of 108 to 111.

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Virginia: Purcellville remains

under a townwide boil water

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advisory after a contractor struck

the main line supplying the town

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during interchange work on Route 7.

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Crews isolated the break in about

20 minutes and completed repairs,

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but two rounds of laboratory

samples must clear before the

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advisory lifts, so the town says the

earliest lift is tomorrow evening.

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The town later reported a second issue

at the same location, with possible

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pressure loss and discoloration.

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Washington: The Kittitas County

Sheriff’s Office reduced evacuation

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levels in three areas around the

Three Queens and Goat fires, moving

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two areas from Level 2 to Level 1

and one area from Level 3 to Level 2.

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All other warnings remain

unchanged, and closed national

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forest lands do not reopen.

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Command of both fires transferred to

a Northwest team yesterday evening.

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The Little Giant Fire northwest of

Leavenworth stands at 171,526 acres

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and 81 percent with 40 structures

lost, and the Sinlahekin Fire near

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Tonasket improved to 68 percent at

166,012 acres with 30 structures lost.

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West Virginia: The state health agency

portal lists boil water notices issued

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yesterday and today, including a

main line break affecting the entire

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community of Anawalt in McDowell

County and multiple Beckley Water

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Company areas in Raleigh County.

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Wyoming: Red flag warnings cover the

Laramie Range, Shirley Basin, Carbon

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County, and the Green River and Sweetwater

basins, with westerly winds to 30 miles

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per hour and humidity as low as 5 percent.

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A freeze warning is posted for

Jackson Hole, Star Valley, and

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the Upper Green River Basin.

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All other states have no significant

updates in the last 24 hours.

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Guam: Guam Homeland Security and

Office of Civil Defense relayed three

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National Weather Service products

in the window: a flood advisory for

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central and northern Guam, a second

for southwestern Guam, and a flash

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flood warning for central Guam with an

islandwide flood advisory, after Doppler

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indicated one to two inches of rain.

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Water over roadways and impassable low

water crossings were the stated hazards.

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All other territories and the District

of Columbia have no significant

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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 your favorite podcast player.

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EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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Stay Safe.

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