Babylon Fire Tops 100,000 Acres in Utah; Colorado Declares Ferris Fire Disaster Emergency; Claremont Fire Forces Evacuations Near Boise

The nation holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 37 uncontained large fires as Utah’s Babylon Fire crosses 100,000 acres and Colorado’s governor declares a disaster emergency for the fast growing Ferris Fire. The new Claremont Fire triggers Level 3 evacuations in the Boise foothills, FEMA announces more than $584 million in resilience and recovery funding, and CISA flags three actively exploited vulnerabilities. Boil water advisories land in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina, flood watches cover the Mid-Atlantic and Middle Tennessee, and typhoon recovery continues on Guam and Saipan. 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 fire posture: The nation remains at Preparedness Level 4 with 37 uncontained large fires, and critical fire weather returns to the Intermountain West today with gusts to 50 mph and single digit to low twenties humidity.

• Babylon Fire, Utah: The nation’s largest wildfire crosses 100,000 acres at 11 percent containment, and San Juan County moves several zones near Monticello to SET status.

• Ferris Fire, Colorado: Governor Polis declares a disaster emergency after the fire grows nearly 6,000 acres in a day; evacuations expand in Dolores and Montezuma counties.

• Claremont Fire, Idaho: A new fire one mile northeast of Boise brings a Level 3 go evacuation for the Rocky Canyon area and a Red Cross shelter in Boise.

• FEMA funding: More than $584 million is announced for resilience and recovery projects across more than 30 states, territories, and Tribal Nations.

• Cyber: CISA adds three actively exploited vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog; organizations running SP Page Builder, Langflow, or the affected Joomla component should patch now.

• Water systems: New boil water advisories in Norwell, Massachusetts (E. coli), Peachland, North Carolina, West Columbia and Red Hill, South Carolina; the Norristown, Pennsylvania advisory is lifted.

• Pacific territories: Guam has 83 percent of substations energized in Super Typhoon Bavi recovery, and the Port of Saipan reopens to full commercial traffic.

Sources

Cedric: 00:00:00

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

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: 00:00:02

Thursday, July 9, 2026, and today’s

episode is sponsored by The Nims Store.

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: 00:00:09

The nation remains at

Preparedness Level 4.

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: 00:00:12

The National Interagency Fire

Center’s July 8 situation report

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: 00:00:15

lists 37 uncontained large fires,

six new large incidents, and 11,829

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: 00:00:21

personnel committed nationwide.

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: 00:00:23

Year to date, 37,783 fires

have burned about 3.4

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: 00:00:27

million acres, 146 percent

of the ten year average.

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: 00:00:32

Utah’s Babylon Fire is the nation’s

largest at more than 100,000

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: 00:00:36

acres and 11 percent containment.

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: 00:00:39

Critical fire weather develops

again today across the Intermountain

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: 00:00:43

West and Great Basin, with relative

humidity of 10 to 25 percent and

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: 00:00:48

thunderstorm outflow gusts to 50 mph

that can fan new and existing fires.

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: 00:00:55

FEMA announces more than $584 million

to support community led resilience and

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: 00:01:00

recovery across more than 30 states,

territories, and Tribal Nations,

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: 00:01:05

delivered through the Building Resilient

Infrastructure and Communities, Public

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: 00:01:09

Assistance, Individual Assistance,

and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs.

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: 00:01:14

On the cyber front, CISA added three

vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited

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: 00:01:19

Vulnerabilities catalog affecting SP

Page Builder, Langflow, and a Joomla

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: 00:01:23

page builder component, all based

on evidence of active exploitation.

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: 00:01:29

(Official update published

about 40 hours ago.)

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: 00:01:32

Organizations running these products

should prioritize remediation.

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: 00:01:36

In weather and tropics, the National

Hurricane Center’s outlook shows

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: 00:01:40

no tropical cyclone formation

expected in the Atlantic, Caribbean,

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: 00:01:44

or Gulf over the next seven days.

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: 00:01:48

The Storm Prediction Center carries

a slight risk of severe storms today

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: 00:01:51

from central Maryland across the

Delmarva, and flood watches cover

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: 00:01:55

parts of the Mid-Atlantic, central

Pennsylvania, and Middle Tennessee.

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: 00:02:00

Dangerous heat continues in the Southern

California and desert Southwest,

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: 00:02:04

with highs running as high as 117

degrees, and heat advisories reach the

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: 00:02:09

Florida Big Bend and south Georgia.

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: 00:02:12

Let’s run through the states.

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: 00:02:14

Arizona: The Pocket Fire near Sedona

stands at roughly 27,400 acres with

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: 00:02:20

containment climbing past 50 percent.

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: 00:02:23

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office

downgrades Kachina Village, Forest

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: 00:02:27

Highlands, and Pine Del from SET to

READY status, while the Seven Canyons

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: 00:02:31

and Enchantment zones remain in SET.

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: 00:02:34

Sections of SR-89A and Woody Mountain

Road remain closed, and additional

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: 00:02:38

aerial resources are staging

from a new helibase in Williams.

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: 00:02:43

California: The Bear Fire in San

Luis Obispo County is mapped at

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: 00:02:47

543 acres and 95 percent contained

as of Wednesday morning, with

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: 00:02:52

all evacuation orders lifted.

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: 00:02:55

The 3-1 Pit Fire in the Lassen-Modoc

Unit grows to 1,055 acres at 20

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: 00:03:00

percent containment as of Wednesday

evening; evacuation orders are

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: 00:03:04

lifted but warnings remain.

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: 00:03:07

Extreme heat warnings continue for

the Southern California deserts

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: 00:03:10

through Thursday night, with highs

to 117 in the Coachella Valley

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: 00:03:14

and San Diego County deserts.

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: 00:03:17

Colorado: Governor Jared Polis

declares a disaster emergency

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: 00:03:21

Wednesday for the Ferris Fire in

the San Juan National Forest, which

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: 00:03:25

grew nearly 6,000 acres in a day to

more than 57,000 acres at 19 percent

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: 00:03:30

containment with extreme fire behavior.

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: 00:03:34

Overnight evacuations expanded in

Dolores and Montezuma counties,

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: 00:03:38

with roughly 115 homes evacuated

and additional zones in go status.

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: 00:03:44

The Aspen Acres Fire in Custer

County reaches 93,916 acres

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: 00:03:49

at 16 percent containment.

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: 00:03:52

The national situation report lists

861 structures lost, while local

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: 00:03:57

reporting confirms 275 structures

destroyed across Pueblo and Custer

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: 00:04:01

counties; officials favor the official

count as damage assessments continue.

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: 00:04:06

Re-entry permits are being issued for

reopened areas, and three Fremont County

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: 00:04:10

communities move to pre-evacuation status.

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: 00:04:13

The Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray reaches

31,420 acres at 8 percent containment

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: 00:04:19

with mandatory evacuations in effect for

Gunnison County Zone 32, and the Willow

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: 00:04:24

Fire near Leadville holds near 4,333

acres at 10 percent, where some evacuated

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: 00:04:30

residents are being allowed to return.

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: 00:04:33

Florida: A heat advisory covers

the eastern Big Bend with heat

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: 00:04:37

index values of 105 to 110 degrees.

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: 00:04:40

The state’s Wednesday situation

report shows only a marginal flash

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: 00:04:44

flood risk south of the I-4 corridor.

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: 00:04:48

Georgia: The same heat advisory

reaches portions of south Georgia,

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: 00:04:51

where triple digit heat index

values build through the week.

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: 00:04:55

Hawaii: A red flag warning is in

effect for leeward and interior

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: 00:04:58

sections of the Big Island amid

gusty trade winds and low humidity.

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: 00:05:03

A brush fire briefly closed part of Hina

Lani Street in Kona on Wednesday; the road

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: 00:05:07

reopened the same day with no evacuations.

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: 00:05:11

Idaho: The Claremont Fire, burning

one mile northeast of Boise, is

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: 00:05:16

a new large incident with active

fire behavior threatening numerous

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: 00:05:20

structures and energy infrastructure.

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: 00:05:23

A Level 3 go evacuation order is

in effect for the Rocky Canyon area

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: 00:05:27

of Boise County, with Level 2 get

set status for the Tollgate area,

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: 00:05:31

and the Red Cross opened a shelter

at Eagle Christian Church in Boise.

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: 00:05:36

Overnight burnout operations from

Boise Ridge Road to Rocky Canyon

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: 00:05:39

Road strengthened containment lines,

and a BLM emergency closure of

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: 00:05:44

foothills lands between Bogus Basin

Road, State Highway 21, and Boise

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: 00:05:48

Ridge Road runs through July 11.

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: 00:05:52

Massachusetts: The town of Norwell

issues an immediate boil water

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: 00:05:56

advisory for all residents and

businesses on town water after E.

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: 00:05:59

coli was detected in the supply.

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: 00:06:02

Nevada: The Dutch Flat Fire nine miles

northeast of Winnemucca holds at 15,558

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: 00:06:08

acres and reaches 70 percent containment,

with no evacuation orders reported.

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: 00:06:14

New Mexico: The Sacaton Fire in the

Gila National Forest stands at 9,349

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: 00:06:19

acres and 11 percent containment

in the July 8 official update,

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: 00:06:24

with the community of Willow Creek

remaining in go evacuation status.

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: 00:06:28

Crews are prepared to conduct defensive

firing near Willow Creek if needed; Bursum

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: 00:06:33

Road is closed east of Mogollon, and

local reporting places 56 homes at risk.

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: 00:06:39

New York: In Midtown Manhattan, crews

continue shoring the under construction

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: 00:06:44

former Pfizer headquarters tower

after support columns buckled Tuesday.

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: 00:06:49

Four nearby buildings remain under

evacuation orders with surrounding

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: 00:06:52

street closures; officials

report no additional movement and

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: 00:06:56

describe the structure as stable.

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: 00:06:59

North Carolina: The town of Peachland in

Anson County issues a boil water advisory

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: 00:07:04

Wednesday morning after a water main

break drained most of the town’s tank.

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: 00:07:09

Separately, a third straight night

of severe storms cuts power to

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: 00:07:12

thousands of customers in Holly

Springs, Wake, and Durham counties.

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: 00:07:18

Oregon: The North Cayuse Fire east

of Pendleton holds at 4,663 acres and

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: 00:07:23

12 percent containment, with Pacific

Northwest Incident Management Team

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: 00:07:27

3 taking command at 8 AM Thursday.

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: 00:07:30

Level 1 evacuation notices remain

on the Umatilla Indian Reservation,

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: 00:07:35

and McKay Reservoir is closed to the

public for water scooping operations.

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: 00:07:39

In central Oregon, all evacuations

are dropped on the Coyner Fire near

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: 00:07:43

Redmond as crews move to mop-up.

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: 00:07:47

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania American

Water lifts the boil water advisory

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: 00:07:51

for more than 1,000 customers in

parts of Norristown and Plymouth

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: 00:07:54

Township after acceptable samples.

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: 00:07:57

A flood watch takes effect at midday

for parts of central Pennsylvania as

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: 00:08:01

heavy storms threaten flash flooding.

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: 00:08:04

South Carolina: Two boil water

advisories are issued Wednesday: the

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: 00:08:09

city of West Columbia after a water

main break, and the Red Hill area of

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: 00:08:13

Horry County, where connecting a new

elevated tank took the system offline.

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: 00:08:18

South Dakota: Heavy rain early Wednesday

triggers a flash flood warning in the

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: 00:08:23

Aberdeen area, with standing water

reported across northeastern South

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: 00:08:26

Dakota and additional storms bringing

60 mph gusts and hail late Wednesday.

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: 00:08:32

Tennessee: A flood watch covers Middle

Tennessee from Thursday afternoon

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: 00:08:36

through Sunday evening as slow moving

storms threaten three to four inches

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: 00:08:41

of rain on already saturated ground.

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: 00:08:44

Utah: The Babylon Fire on the Manti-La

Sal National Forest crosses 100,000

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: 00:08:49

acres at 11 percent containment, the

largest active wildfire in the country,

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: 00:08:54

with extreme wind driven fire behavior.

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: 00:08:57

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office

moves several zones near Monticello to

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: 00:09:01

SET status, and closures include the

Monticello Ranger District, the Needles

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: 00:09:06

District of Canyonlands National Park, and

BLM lands along the Indian Creek corridor.

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: 00:09:13

The Cottonwood Fire east of

Beaver stands at 96,242 acres

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: 00:09:18

and 58 percent containment.

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: 00:09:21

Great Basin Complex Incident Management

Team 4 took command at 6 AM Wednesday

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: 00:09:25

and is working with Beaver and

Piute county sheriffs on evacuation

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: 00:09:28

reduction and re-entry planning;

Level 3 go orders remain for HiLo

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: 00:09:32

Estates, Merchant Valley, Eagle Point

Resort, and Arrowhead Summer Homes.

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: 00:09:38

Washington: The Chelan Hills Fire

in Douglas County reaches 50 percent

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: 00:09:42

containment at roughly 9,735 acres,

with 17 structures lost and Level 3

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: 00:09:49

evacuations remaining in portions of

the fire area under red flag conditions.

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: 00:09:54

In Kittitas County, the fast moving

Ryegrass Coulee Fire forced a Level 3

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: 00:09:59

go now evacuation of the town of Vantage

on Wednesday evening with traffic

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: 00:10:03

impacts at the I-90 Vantage Bridge;

the order was reduced to Level 2 the

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: 00:10:08

same night as crews slowed the fire.

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: 00:10:11

West Virginia: The Peoples Cartage

warehouse fire in Parkersburg,

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: 00:10:16

burning plastics and lithium batteries

since Sunday, reaches 100 percent

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: 00:10:21

containment as crews shift to hot

spots and air quality monitoring.

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: 00:10:26

The shelter-in-place has been lifted

with monitored air readings below

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: 00:10:29

action thresholds, and the Wood County

state of emergency remains in effect.

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: 00:10:35

All other states have no significant

updates in the last 24 hours.

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: 00:10:39

Let's run through the territories.

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: 00:10:42

Guam: Post Super Typhoon

Bavi recovery continues.

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: 00:10:46

The Guam Power Authority reports 83

percent of substations energized, 25

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: 00:10:50

of 30, with about 25 percent of feeders

online as of the July 8 situational

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: 00:10:55

report; restoration prioritizes

hospitals, water systems, and the airport,

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: 00:11:00

with crews working extended shifts.

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: 00:11:03

Northern Mariana Islands: The Coast Guard

reopens the Port of Saipan to around

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: 00:11:07

the clock commercial traffic effective

Wednesday morning and continues clearing

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: 00:11:11

channel hazards from Super Typhoon Bavi.

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: 00:11:15

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation

progressively re-energized the Kiya

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: 00:11:19

1 and Kiya 2 power lines through

Wednesday as plant repairs continue.

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: 00:11:26

All other territories and the District

of Columbia have no significant

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: 00:11:29

updates in the last 24 hours.

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: 00:11:33

That wraps today’s EM Morning Brief.

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: 00:11:35

New episodes drop Monday through

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

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: 00:11:39

so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

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: 00:11:43

Subscribe on the Emergency Management

Network on Substack, or follow

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: 00:11:47

on your favorite podcast player.

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: 00:11:49

EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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: 00:11:52

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