Shownotes
Today’s brief covers overnight growth on Utah’s Cottonwood and Babylon fires and Colorado’s Aspen Acres Fire as the nation holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 51 uncontained large fires, federal grid emergency orders for PJM as demand today could break the all time record during widespread extreme heat, a CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities addition for Microsoft SharePoint with a July 4 remediation deadline, Guam’s advisory on Tropical Storm 09W and a possible category 4 passage through the Marianas early next week, plus state updates from Arizona, California, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and more. 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
• Wildfire activity: The nation holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 51 uncontained large fires. Utah’s Cottonwood Fire leads at 93,918 acres and 5 percent containment, the Babylon Fire jumps to 70,735 acres at 0 percent, and Colorado’s Aspen Acres Fire grows to 47,953 acres with evacuations in Rye, Beulah, and Wetmore and more than 150 structures reported destroyed.
• Grid emergency: DOE Section 202(c) orders for PJM run through 11:59 PM Eastern July 3, and peak demand today could break the 2006 all time record. Maryland, Virginia, DC, and Delaware sit in the highest stress zone; watch for conservation appeals.
• Extreme heat: Warning level heat covers a large portion of the country from the Plains to New England through the July 4 holiday, with cooling center activations in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New York City, Indianapolis, and beyond.
• Marianas typhoon threat: Tropical Storm 09W is forecast to intensify rapidly and could pass through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands late Sunday into Monday at possible category 4 strength. Preparedness messaging is active now.
• Cyber: CISA adds SharePoint flaw CVE-2026-45659 to the KEV catalog with a July 4 remediation deadline, and the SimpleHelp KEV remediation deadline falls today.
• Severe weather: SPC places the northern Plains into the Upper Midwest under an Enhanced Risk today with very large hail and gusts above 75 mph possible; overnight storm damage reports are still developing in Minnesota and Iowa.
• Water systems: LADWP issues a boil water notice for part of Koreatown after E. coli detections, while St. Louis lifts its precautionary boil water advisory.
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Sources
NIFC and InciWeb
• NIFC National Fire News: PL4, 51 uncontained large fires, Cottonwood Fire
• NIFC Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory: Colorado and southern Wyoming, July 1
• InciWeb incident list: overnight acreage updates
FEMA
• OpenFEMA disaster declarations: FM-5643-CO, Gold Mountain Fire FMAG
CISA
• Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: CVE-2026-45659 SharePoint, CVE-2026-48558 SimpleHelp
DHS
• National Terrorism Advisory System: no current advisories
NOAA and NWS
• SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook: Enhanced Risk northern Plains into Upper Midwest
• NHC Atlantic tropical outlook: no development expected
• NHC East Pacific outlook: Tropical Storm Douglas weakening
• Weather.com: heat wave stretches into the July 4 week
Grid and Power
• DOE: emergency orders secure Mid-Atlantic grid ahead of hot weather
• The Hill: heat dome strains the power grid
• Electric Choice: PJM demand forecast and record figures
USGS
• M 3.8 earthquake near Oak Harbor, Washington, event page
Alabama
• WAAY: heat advisories continue through Thursday
Alaska
• Alaska Wildland Fire Information: Martha Fire stopped at 5 acres near Soldotna
• Alaska Wildland Fire Information: final Starry Fire update, evacuations lifted
Arizona
• Arizona Emergency Information Network: Pocket Fire containment reaches 20 percent
Arkansas
• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: heat advisory and storm threat
California
• LADWP: boil water notice for small area of Koreatown
Colorado
• Colorado Sun: Wednesday Colorado fires update
• CPR: communities cancel July 4 fireworks
Connecticut
• Governor Lamont: Extreme Hot Weather Protocol activated through Sunday
Delaware
• Delaware.gov: NWS issues Extreme Heat Warning for all of Delaware
Florida
• Florida Forest Service: current wildfire information
Georgia
• Cobb County Courier: heat advisory with heat index near 107
• CBS Atlanta: severe thunderstorm warnings in north Georgia
Illinois
• CBS Chicago: Extreme Heat Warning and city cooling areas
• Cook County: 24 hour cooling centers
Indiana
• WBIW: Extreme Heat Warning upgraded for central Indiana
• WTHR: Indianapolis cooling sites and Indiana 211 locations
Iowa
• KEYC: strong to severe storms and flash flooding overnight
Kansas
• NWS Wichita: Extreme Heat Warning and Heat Advisory
Kentucky
• WHAS11: Louisville heat advisory
Maine
• Bangor Daily News: extreme heat warning and watch for Maine
• Maine Public: cooling centers open ahead of dangerous heat
Maryland
• The Daily Record: US declares grid emergency for power serving Maryland
Massachusetts
• City of Boston: Excessive Heat Warning July 1 through July 3
Michigan
• CBS Detroit: heat wave over southeast Michigan
• Detroit News: Detroit cooling hours extended, Warren outage
Minnesota
• KEYC: severe storms and tornado potential across southern Minnesota
• NWS Twin Cities: storm reports
Missouri
• City of St. Louis: boil water advisory lifted
• ABC17: Extreme Heat Warning until July 3 from NWS St. Louis
New Jersey
• NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly: current hazards briefing
New Mexico
• Los Alamos Reporter: McCauley Springs Fire update, July 1
New York
• NYC Mayor’s Office: emergency heat measures expanded
• WRVO: Extreme Heat Warning for much of New York
Oregon
• Central Oregon Fire Info: July 4 caution and fireworks ban on federal lands
Utah
• NPS Canyonlands: Needles District closure
Washington
• Washington State Patrol: state fire mobilization authorized for the Lambdin Fire
• Walla Walla Union-Bulletin: Lambdin Fire grows to 12,776 acres, 25 percent contained
Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
• Guam Homeland Security: Tropical Storm 09W public advisory, July 2
• CNMI Governor’s Office: Super Typhoon Sinlaku recovery update
Transcripts
Good morning.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:The nation remains at preparedness level 4.
Speaker A:The National Interagency Fire Center's July 1 report counts 51 uncontained large fires, 257 new starts and more than 9,000 personnel assigned.
Speaker A:Official update published about 24 hours ago.
Speaker A:The Cottonwood Fire in Utah is the largest in the country at 93,918 acres and 5% containment.
Speaker A:Overnight updates show major growth on Utah's Babylon Fire, now 70,735 acres, and Colorado's Aspen Acres Fire, now 47,953 acres.
Speaker A:FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for Colorado's Gold Mountain Fire.
Speaker A:Official Update published about 36 hours ago and A new fuels and fire behavior advisory covers much of Colorado and southern Wyoming.
Speaker A:Extreme heat dominates the eastern half of the country.
Speaker A: grid remain in effect through: Speaker A:Official update published about 30 hours ago and demand today could break the all time PJM record as heat alerts stretch from the Plains to the Northeast.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center places the northern Plains into the Upper Midwest under an enhanced risk of severe storms today, with very large hail and wind gusts above 75 mph possible in the Western Pacific.
Speaker A:Tropical Storm 09W is forecast to intensify rapidly and could reach the Marianas at major typhoon strength late Sunday into Monday.
Speaker A:Guam's advisory is below in territories on the cyber front, CISA adds a Microsoft SharePoint Server deserialization flaw CVE 226-45-659 to the known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with an unusually short remediation deadline of July 4th and the remediation deadline for the Simple Help authentication bypass added June 29 falls today.
Speaker A:The National Terrorism Advisory System carries no active advisories.
Speaker A:The Atlantic tropics stay quiet.
Speaker A:Tropical Storm Douglas in the eastern Pacific is weakening with no threat to land, and there are no new CDC health advisories or State Department travel advisory changes in the window let's run through the states.
Speaker A:Alabama Heat advisories cover Northern Alabama through 7pm Thursday with heat index values up to 109, the hottest stretch of the year so far.
Speaker A:Alaska firefighters stopped the New Martha fire at 5 acres near homes outside Soldotna, reaching containment Wednesday evening.
Speaker A:The Denali Borough lifts all evacuation statuses for the Starry and 17 Mile fires as the Starry Fire holds at 547 acres and 80% containment, official update published about 36 hours ago.
Speaker A:Arizona the Pocket Fire, about seven miles north of Sedona, stands at 18,173 acres and 20% containment, with more than 1,000 personnel assigned.
Speaker A:Oak Creek Canyon, Forest Highlands, Kachina Village and Pinedell remain in set status and sections of State Route 89A stay closed.
Speaker A:Arkansas A heat advisory runs through 8pm Friday for much of the state, with heat index values up to 110 in the Arkansas River Valley and the Delta and isolated severe storms possible in the Southeast.
Speaker A:California the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power issues a boil water notice for a two block area of Koreatown after routine SAL samples test positive for E. Coli residents.
Speaker A:There should boil tap water for one minute before drinking or food preparation until further notice.
Speaker A:The Aspen Acres fire in Pueblo and Custer counties grows to 47,953 acres per overnight federal mapping and is the nation's top priority.
Speaker A:Fire evacuation orders remain for the Rye, Beulah and Wetmore areas.
Speaker A:More than 150 structures are reported destroyed and Highway 96 is closed.
Speaker A:The Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray reaches 16,359 acres and now carries a federal Fire Management Assistance grant.
Speaker A:The Snyder fire near the Utah line stands at roughly 30,000 acres and 10% containment, with a large influx of crews expected, and the Ferris Fire is at 25,814 acres.
Speaker A:Communities across the state canceled July 4th fireworks shows because of fire danger.
Speaker A:Connecticut the state's Extreme Hot Weather Protocol stays active through at least 6pm Sunday, July 5th.
Speaker A:Official update published about 40 hours ago.
Speaker A:Cooling centers are open statewide through 21 1, with heat index values of 105 to 110 possible in Southern Connecticut.
Speaker A:Delaware an extreme heat Warning covers all three counties from July 1 through July 4.
Speaker A:Delaware also sits inside the PJM footprint covered by the federal grid emergency orders.
Speaker A:Florida the Florida Forest Service reports 89 active wildfires burning about 31,025 acres statewide amid drought, extreme heat and dry lightning.
Speaker A:The National Hurricane center expects no Atlantic tropical development over the next seven days.
Speaker A:Georgia North Georgia sees a third straight day of heat advisories with heat index values near 107 in the Atlanta metro, and severe thunderstorm warnings crossed north Georgia Wednesday.
Speaker A:Illinois an extreme heat warning covers Cook county with heat indices above 100, Chicago activates cooling areas at its six community service centers, plus libraries and cooling buses, and Cook county keeps cooling centers open 24 hours at the Skokie, Maywood and Markham courthouses through 5pm today.
Speaker A:Indiana Central Indiana moves up to an extreme heat warning through Thursday night with heat index values near 107.
Speaker A:Indiana 211 lists 367 cooling locations across all 92 counties.
Speaker A:Strong to severe storms cross northern Iowa overnight with 60-80 mph gusts.
Speaker A:Large hail and flash flooding possible layered on top of extreme heat warnings across much of the state.
Speaker A:Kansas an extreme heat warning runs until 9pm Friday for Central north, central, east central and northeast Kansas with heat index values to 105 and a heat advisory covers south central and southeast Kansas through Thursday evening.
Speaker A:Kentucky A heat advisory covers the Louisville metro and nearby counties with heat index values above 100 through Thursday.
Speaker A:Maine an extreme heat warning covers York county, interior, Cumberland and Androscoggin counties and Southern Oxford through 8pm Friday with heat index values up to 110.
Speaker A:A rare warning level event for Maine.
Speaker A:Cooling centers are open in Portland and Presque Isle.
Speaker A:Maryland Maryland Sits at the center of the federal grid.
Speaker A: ak the all time record set in: Speaker A:Watch for conservation appeals.
Speaker A:Massachusetts Boston Declares an excessive heat warning through Friday with heat index values of 105 to 112 expected cooling centers are open at library and community sites along with around the clock air conditioned emergency shelters.
Speaker A:Southeast Michigan Finishes an extreme heat warning today with Detroit near 100 degrees and heat indices above 105.
Speaker A:Detroit extends cooling center hours by executive order and heat contributed to a Warren outage that left about 5,000 customers without power for much of Wednesday.
Speaker A:Minnesota A tornado watch covered northwest and west central Minnesota Wednesday evening and severe storms moved across the south overnight with 70mph plus wind potential large hail and flash flooding Damage reports are still developing this morning.
Speaker A:Missouri St. Louis lifts its precautionary boil water advisory for parts of north and South City after testing confirms water safety.
Speaker A:The advisory followed a pressure drop at the Chain of Rocks treatment plant.
Speaker A:An extreme heat warning continues until 10pm Friday with a St. Louis heat index near 109 today.
Speaker A:New Jersey an extreme heat warning covers far southern New Jersey with a heat advisory along the shore and heat index values of 100 to 110 are forecast into Saturday.
Speaker A:New Jersey Also sits inside the PJM grid emergency footprint.
Speaker A:New Mexico the McAuley Springs fire in the Yemez area holds at 712 acres and 43% containment.
Speaker A:Repopulation of Sierra de los Pinos is underway and NM4 is open with pilot car traffic between mile markers 27 and 33.
Speaker A:New York New York City expands emergency heat measures for the holiday weekend, activating hundreds of cooling centers, pop up cooling stations for outdoor workers, cooling vans and Code Red homeless outreach.
Speaker A:An extreme heat warning covers much of upstate New York, Oregon, Central Oregon Fire managers ban fireworks on all federal lands and urge extra caution heading into the July 4th weekend with campfires limited to designated campgrounds.
Speaker A:Utah the Cottonwood Fire east of Beaver, the nation's largest, stands at 93,918 acres and 5% containment.
Speaker A:The Babylon Fire in San Juan county grows sharply to 70,735 acres at 0% containment with four structures lost and the Needles District of Canyonlands national park remains closed.
Speaker A:PJM flags the Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia and Delaware corridor as the highest stress area under the federal grid orders with forecast highs of 102 to 104 in parts of Maryland and Virginia.
Speaker A:WASHINGTON the Lambden fire in Walla Walla county stands at 12,776 acres and 25% containment.
Speaker A:Level 3 Go now.
Speaker A:Evacuations remain in place near US 12 east of Wallula Junction.
Speaker A:Shelters operate at Prescott City hall and Touchett High School.
Speaker A:U.S. 12 is reopened between mile posts 308 and 320 and a state fire mobilization is authorized separately.
Speaker A: ake struck near Oak harbor at: Speaker A:All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
Speaker A: W, located about: Speaker A:Forecasters expect rapid intensification and models indicate passage through the Marianas late Sunday into Monday, potentially at category 4 strength.
Speaker A:No watches or warnings are in effect yet.
Speaker A:Residents should prepare seven to 10 day kits, secure loose debris and clear storm drains.
Speaker A:Northern Mariana Islands, Rota, Tinian and Saipan all sit within range of Tropical Storm 09W's forecast track for late Sunday into Monday and the CNMI is still working through recovery from April's Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which adds compounding risk to power and water systems.
Speaker A:District of Columbia the district sits inside PJM's highest stress zone under the federal grid emergency orders during record threatening heat through July 3.
Speaker A:All other territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
Speaker A:That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
Speaker A:New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5am hour PT, so the day starts with clarity.
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Speaker A:EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices podcast edited and voiced with descript.
Speaker A:Links are in the show notes below.
Speaker A:Stay safe.
