Colorado's Aspen Acres Fire tops national priority as damage assessment begins; Maryland storms cut power to nearly 39,000 as mid-Atlantic flood watches stretch into Monday.
Episode 207 •
6th July 2026 • EM Morning Brief • Brian Colburn
Today’s brief covers the national wildfire picture at Preparedness Level 4, with 41 uncontained large fires and evacuations in three geographic areas. Colorado’s Aspen Acres Fire, now the nation’s top-priority incident, reaches nearly 87,000 acres as damage assessment teams begin work, while the Willow Fire forces new evacuations near Leadville. Utah’s Babylon Fire burns past 87,000 acres with no containment. In the mid-Atlantic, back-to-back storm rounds bring flooding, water rescues, and outages near 39,000 customers in Maryland, with flood watches covering New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and Washington. Richmond restores water pressure after Friday’s main break, and the tropics stay quiet. 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 Preparedness Level 4: The July 5 situation report counts 41 uncontained large fires, 124 new starts, and 13 complex incident management teams committed, with evacuations in three geographic areas.
• Aspen Acres Fire, Colorado: The nation’s top-priority fire reaches 86,983 acres at 13 percent containment; more than 180 structures destroyed and evacuations covering about 11,000 people remain in effect as damage assessment begins.
• Willow Fire, Colorado: Overnight growth of 900 acres triggers new mandatory evacuations southwest of Leadville; shelters operate in Buena Vista and Edwards.
• Babylon Fire, Utah: The fire stands at 87,554 acres with no containment and extreme fire behavior, threatening structures and communication infrastructure near Bears Ears and Canyonlands.
• Maryland storms: Saturday night storms bring flooding, water rescues, and outages near 39,000 customers; BGE targets 80 percent restoration by Monday evening as a second storm round arrives.
• Mid-Atlantic flood threat: Flood watches cover Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania into Monday, with rainfall rates capable of topping two inches per hour.
• Richmond water system: Pressure is restored and water is confirmed safe after Friday’s main break; permanent repairs begin Monday with no boil water advisory required.
The nation stands at preparedness level four as the Western fire siege deepens.
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The National Interagency Coordination Center's Sunday Situation Report official update published 24 hours ago counts 124 new fires, six new large incidents and 41 uncontained large fires nationwide, with 13 complex incident management teams committed and evacuations in place in three geographic areas.
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Colorado's Aspen Acres fire is the highest priority fire in the country for resource requests, and fire managers say the first weekend without red flag warnings is letting crews get in front of the flames instead of chasing them.
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In the mid Atlantic, a second straight day of severe storms hits communities still recovering from Saturday night's damage.
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Storms across central Maryland bring flooding, water rescues, downed trees and power outages that pique near 39,000 customers.
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And the National Weather Service posts flood watches for much of Maryland and Washington into early Monday morning.
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The Philadelphia and Mount Holly forecast office flags an elevated flash flood threat through Monday evening with rainfall rates that can top 2 inches per hour and the flood watch expands to cover the rest of New Jersey.
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Forecasters also expect scattered storms with isolated flash flooding along a southward moving front from the Central Plains through the Ohio Valley.
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The tropics stay quiet.
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The National Hurricane Center's Monday morning outlook expects no tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf over the next seven days.
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Lets run through the states.
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Colorado the Aspen Acres fire southwest of Pueblo reaches 86,983 acres with roughly 13% containment and about 800 personnel assigned.
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More than 180 structures are destroyed, including at least 55 homes in Custer county and evacuations covering roughly 3,800 homes and 11,000 people remain in effect.
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A Custer county damage assessment team begins inventorying lost structures Sunday and crews focus on protecting Rye in Colorado City.
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The fire now ranks 8th largest in state history.
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Three other large fires keep pressure on the state.
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The Willow Fire near Leadville grows 900 acres overnight to about 3,957 acres at 1% containment, prompting mandatory evacuation southwest of town.
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Evacuees now shelter in Buena Vista and Edwards.
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The Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray reaches 26,405 acres, though progress on its southwestern flank allows U.S. 550 to reopen.
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Organizers cancel the Ouray 100 endurance race.
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The Ferris Fire near Dolores grows to 42,758 acres at 7% containment as two Super Scooper aircraft join the fight The Snyder fire west of grand junction holds at 30,202 acres and 95% containment with all evacuations lifted.
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Maryland A powerful line of thunderstorms Saturday night brings flooding, water rescues, downed trees and widespread outages across central Maryland, with about 38,900 customers without power at the peak and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties hit hardest.
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BGE estimates 80% restoration by Monday evening.
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A flood watch covering Baltimore, the surrounding counties and the Washington suburbs runs until 1am Monday as a second round of storms threatens 2 to 4 inches of rain.
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Baltimore county fire crews rescue six people from a capsized boat near Hart Miller Island.
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New Jersey the National Weather Service expands a flood watch to cover the rest of the state as an elevated flash flood threat continues through Monday evening.
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Rainfall rates can exceed 2 inches per hour in the strongest storms, with locally damaging winds also a concern.
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New Mexico the McCauley Springs fire northeast of Jimez Springs transfers command from the Southwest Complex Incident Management Team back to the local unit Sunday.
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The fire shows minimal behavior with smoldering, though area road and trail closures remain in effect in the Santa Fe National Forest.
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Pennsylvania the Philadelphia and Mount Holly forecast office briefing keeps an elevated flash flood risk in place for the region through Monday evening, with heavy rainfall and locally damaging winds the main threats for eastern Pennsylvania.
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Utah the Babylon Fire in the Mantee La Salle National Forest, 25 miles southwest of Monticello, stands at 87,554 acres with no containment and exhibits extreme fire behavior with crowning and wind driven runs.
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The fire threatens structures and communication infrastructure with area road and trail closures in effect, including in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
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The Wild Goose Fire in the fishlake National Forest, 12 miles northeast of Fillmore, has evacuations in effect with numerous structures and critical infrastructure threatened.
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Virginia Richmond's Department of Public Utilities restores water pressure and confirms drinking water is safe following Friday's water main break ahead of permanent repairs beginning Monday.
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Pressure never dropped below the 20 psi threshold that would trigger a boil water advisory, and the city coordinated with Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield counties to balance demand across its nine pressure zones.
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All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
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Territories District of Columbia the National Weather Service flood watch covering Washington and its Maryland suburbs runs into early Monday morning with Thunderstorms capable of 2 to 4 inches of rain and flash flooding.
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All other territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
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That wraps today's EM Morning Brief new episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5am hour PT so the day starts with clarity.
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