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Brief: Urgent Wildfire and Evacuation Updates
Episode 258 • 15th September 2026 • EM Morning Brief • Brian Colburn
00:00:00 00:22:17

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I report that wildfire remains the dominant national picture, with elevated activity and acreage well above the ten-year average. We note the National Interagency Coordination Center lists the national preparedness level at 3, with 57 uncontained large fires, 105 active incidents, and approximately 2.5 million cumulative acres affected. I also report a newly listed CISA exploited vulnerability, CVE-2026-76461, in the Cisco Secure Email Gateway, with a federal remediation deadline of September 17, 2026 under BOD 26-04. We detail multiple evacuations and local impacts, including fires in California, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and the Mount Hood National Forest, water main breaks and boil-water advisories in North Carolina, and load shedding in Puerto Rico due to generating unit failures. I add that there are no active tropical cyclones affecting US land areas and no magnitude 4.5+ earthquakes recorded in the past day.

Takeaways:

  • I report that CISA added a new SQL injection vulnerability in Cisco email gateways with federal remediation due September 17, 2026.
  • I note the national wildfire picture remains severe, with year to date acres and fire counts well above the ten year averages.
  • I announce ongoing evacuations and sheltering for multiple incidents, including the Lucas Fire, Moonshine Fire, Gracemont fire, and Mount Hood fires.
  • I state that Puerto Rico experienced multiple generating unit failures that forced load shedding and left many customers without service during peak demand.
  • I emphasize significant infrastructure impacts across jurisdictions, including major water main breaks that prompted precautionary boil water advisories and shelter activations.
  • I confirm there are no current National Terrorism Advisory System products and no magnitude 4.5 or greater earthquakes reported in the last day.

Sponsors

B. Colburn Coaching - https://calendly.com/briancolburn/virtual-coffee

Wild Tone Labs - https://wildtonelabs.com/

The NIMS Store - https://thenimsstore.com/?utm_source=em-morning-brief

NATURAL DISASTERS EXPO HOUSTON - https://disasterexpotexas.com/registration?utm_source=emmorningpod&discount_code=EM100

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 and SBA declarations

NIFC and wildfire

NOAA, NWS, and NHC

USGS

U.S. Coast Guard

Travel advisories

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Hawaii

Iowa

Missouri

New Mexico

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Puerto Rico

Texas

West Virginia

Wyoming

Port of Los Angeles

Shipping containers fall into water at Port of Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles

Transcripts

Cedric:

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

2

:

Brief for September 15, 2026.

3

:

The Department of Homeland Security

has no current National Terrorism

4

:

Advisory System advisory in effect.

5

:

On the cyber side, CISA added one

new vulnerability to its Known

6

:

Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog,

CVE-:

7

:

in the Cisco Secure Email Gateway.

8

:

The catalog entry carries a remediation

,:

9

:

federal civilian agencies under

Binding Operational Directive 26-04,

10

:

which prioritizes rapid patching

of high-risk vulnerabilities

11

:

on publicly exposed assets.

12

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Email gateways sit directly in the

path of emergency notification and

13

:

interagency coordination traffic, so

operations centers running affected

14

:

Cisco appliances should confirm patch

status against the vendor advisory.

15

:

Wildfire remains the

dominant national picture.

16

:

The National Interagency Coordination

Center reports the national Preparedness

17

:

Level at 3, with 57 uncontained

large fires and 105 active incidents

18

:

accounting for 2,503,512 cumulative

acres and 13,102 assigned personnel, a

19

:

net gain of 84 responders in 24 hours.

20

:

Year to date the nation has recorded

54,407 fires and 8,435,367 acres, running

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at 123 percent of the 10 year average

for fire count and 149 percent for acres.

22

:

Evacuations are in effect on the Lucas

Fire in California, the Moonshine

23

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Fire in Wyoming, the Gracemont Fire in

Oklahoma, and three fires on the Mt.

24

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Hood National Forest in Oregon.

25

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Predictive Services flags high risk

conditions across the western half of

26

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Texas and moderate significant fire

potential in the northern and central

27

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Rockies and the adjacent High Plains.

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On the tropical and seismic side,

the National Hurricane Center reports

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no active tropical cyclones in the

Atlantic, Caribbean, or Gulf of America,

30

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with one trough well east southeast of

Bermuda carrying a 40 percent chance of

31

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development over the next seven days.

32

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In the Eastern Pacific the Center

is issuing advisories on Tropical

33

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Depression Norbert and Tropical

Depression Fifteen-E, both well

34

:

offshore, with no coastal watches or

warnings and no hazards affecting land.

35

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USGS recorded no magnitude 4.5

36

:

or greater earthquakes in the United

States or its territories in the past day.

37

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Lifeline conditions drove the remaining

national items: Puerto Rico ran load

38

:

shedding twice on Monday after two

separate generating unit failures, the

39

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Coast Guard and partner agencies responded

to shipping containers that fell from a

40

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cargo ship at the Port of Los Angeles, and

roughly 50,000 water customers in the Cary

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and Morrisville area of North Carolina

were placed under precautionary boil

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water guidance after a 30 inch main break.

43

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Federal Register notices published Monday

and this morning set Small Business

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Administration filing deadlines tied to

disaster declarations in North Dakota,

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South Dakota, Texas, Indiana, and Utah.

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Let’s run through the

states and territories.

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Arizona: A monsoon storm moved across the

Tucson metro and Pima County on Monday

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afternoon and evening, producing flash

flooding and multiple water rescues.

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Tucson Fire responded to three

swift water rescues in under 30

50

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minutes, including a driver found

on a vehicle roof at Calle Betelgeux

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and South Avenida Sirio at 4:47 p.m.

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and a submerged vehicle being swept

toward Speedway at North Alamo Avenue

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and East Rosewood Street at 5:01 p.m.

54

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The National Weather Service also

reported a swift water rescue in

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Brawley Wash near Manville Road in

the Picture Rocks area, where 1.5

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to 2.5

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inches of rain had fallen.

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Nearly 16,000 Tucson Electric

Power customers lost service,

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with 12,341 still out at 6:45 p.m.

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after a storm snapped a power pole

near Prudence and Broadway and

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brought a tree down onto lines.

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The Flood Watch for the Tucson

metro expired at 11 p.m.

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Monday, but forecasters have

flagged elevated storm and flash

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flood chances through Wednesday.

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Arkansas: A wildfire reported at 1:15 p.m.

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Monday burned roughly 200 acres

inside Highland Industrial Park

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near East Camden and was reported

contained at about:

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The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office

issued an immediate evacuation

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notice for the area north of U.S.

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278 between Calhoun County

Road 10 and Road 95, and closed

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Arkansas 203 and Arkansas 274.

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Three shelters opened in Hampton

at Victory Baptist Church, the

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Hampton High School library, and

Hampton First Assembly of God.

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Southern Arkansas University Tech and

the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training

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Academy were evacuated at about 8:45 p.m.,

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with students bused to the Camden

Fairview High School gymnasium.

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The Arkansas Forestry Division

responded alongside industrial

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fire brigades from within the park.

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No injuries and no

explosions were reported.

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California: The Lucas Fire in the CAL FIRE

Sonoma Lake Napa Unit, 10 miles north of

81

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Upper Lake, stood at 4,109 acres and 25

percent containment with 2,609 assigned

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personnel, an increase of 805 in 24 hours.

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Evacuation orders remain in place for

multiple Lake County and Mendocino

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County zones, with additional

evacuation warnings, and a Red

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Cross shelter is operating at Lake

County Fairgrounds, Fritch Hall,

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401 Martin Street in Lakeport.

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Numerous residences and communication

infrastructure are threatened.

88

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In Monterey County, emergency management

downgraded Plaskett Fire evacuation orders

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to warnings for zones MRY-F034, F035,

and F036 on Monday and lifted warnings

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entirely for five additional zones.

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Highway 1 is open and the Cambria shelter

and temporary evacuation point are closed.

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Evacuation orders remain for six

Plaskett zones and for Timber Fire zones.

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Colorado: The Swiss Roll Fire on the

San Juan National Forest, 11 miles east

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of Pagosa Springs, grew 405 acres to

775 acres and remains at zero percent

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containment with moderate fire behavior.

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Energy infrastructure is

threatened and area, road, and

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trail closures are in effect.

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Assigned personnel rose by 27 to 61.

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No evacuations have been ordered.

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Connecticut: Governor Ned Lamont and

state officials briefed Monday on the

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response to Sunday's flash flooding.

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State emergency management director Bill

Turner reported no known injuries or

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fatalities, but said first responders

performed dozens of water rescues

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statewide, with Bridgeport Fire

Department alone reporting 30 to 40.

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Connecticut Department of Transportation

officials said dozens of roads and

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bridges closed temporarily, including

Route 1, Interstate 95 in Greenwich,

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and the Merritt Parkway between Westport

and Fairfield, and that Tweed New

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Haven Airport also closed briefly.

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Turner asked residents to report

September 13 storm damage, which

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could help the state qualify

for federal disaster assistance.

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Florida: A 12 inch water main broke

east of Rock Springs Road in Apopka on

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Monday, cutting service to about 200

homes and damaging East Welch Road.

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Service was restored by 5 p.m.,

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but a precautionary boil water advisory

remains in effect for the Wekiva Park,

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Parkview, and Wekiva Glen subdivisions and

nearby businesses pending clearing tests.

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Eastbound Welch Road lanes were closed

with reopening estimated around 7:30 p.m.

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Separately, the National Weather Service

issued a Flood Warning Monday at 1:40 p.m.

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for the Withlacoochee River at U.S.

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41 near Dunnellon, affecting

Marion, Levy, and Citrus counties,

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with minor flooding forecast.

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Hawaii: Hurricane Lowell

recovery continues on Kauai.

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The county reported Monday that all

water systems are fully restored with

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no boil water notices in effect, though

an island wide water conservation notice

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and a brown water advisory remain active.

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Kauai Police Department and Kauai

Emergency Management Agency non emergency

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phone lines remain out of service six days

after the storm, and the public is being

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directed to alternate dispatch numbers.

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The 911 system is functioning, and

residents are asked to reserve it

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for life threatening emergencies.

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Hawaii's congressional delegation urged

approval Monday of Governor Josh Green's

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two September 9 major disaster declaration

requests, an expedited request covering

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Kauai and Maui counties for Hurricane

Lowell and a statewide request for

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Hurricane Lala and Tropical Storm Moke.

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The delegation letter states that Kauai

Island Utility Cooperative lost power

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to roughly 90 percent of its accounts

during Lowell, that thousands of residents

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still lack electricity to refrigerate

food and medication, and that Kaumalapau

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Harbor on Lanai, the island's sole

commercial cargo access for roughly 3,000

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residents, was damaged and is inoperable.

139

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FEMA's validated joint preliminary

damage assessment confirms more than $67

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:

million in Public Assistance eligible

damage statewide and 267 damaged

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residences across three counties.

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:

Indiana: Two Federal Register

notices published Monday amended

143

:

the major disaster declaration for

Indiana, FEMA-:

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Public Assistance only component.

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Emergency managers with open

project worksheets should

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:

review the amended designations.

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Iowa: The National Weather Service

ssued a Flood Watch Monday at:

148

:

running through 1 p.m.

149

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Wednesday for central and south central

Iowa, with a second watch covering

150

:

southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

151

:

A Tornado Watch ran through

midnight for southwestern Iowa.

152

:

A near continuous series of

severe thunderstorm warnings

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ran from roughly 8 p.m.

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past 1 a.m.

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across Fremont, Montgomery,

and Page counties, including

156

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Clarinda and Shambaugh, citing

potential gusts to 80 mph, hail

157

:

to 2 inches, and torrential rain.

158

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No confirmed tornado touchdown or damage

assessment was available at publication.

159

:

Missouri: The National Weather Service

issued a series of Flash Flood Warnings

160

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across Missouri through Monday morning,

followed by a Flood Warning at mid

161

:

morning covering central Andrew

County and southeastern Holt County.

162

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A broad Flood Watch covered

14 northwest Missouri counties

163

:

including Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan,

Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, De

164

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Kalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison,

Holt, Mercer, Nodaway, and Worth.

165

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No state emergency declaration

was issued in the window.

166

:

Nevada: A Small Business Administration

administrative declaration published

167

:

Monday for the Cottonwood Fire and

flooding in Utah extends disaster loan

168

:

eligibility to Lincoln County, Nevada.

169

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Physical damage filings are due

,:

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injury filings are due June 9, 2027.

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The McConnell Fire near Orovada holds at

33,562 acres and 91 percent containment

172

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with no evacuations or closures.

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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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New Mexico: The National Weather

Service issued multiple Flash Flood

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Warnings across New Mexico on Monday.

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A 5:43 p.m.

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product from the Albuquerque

office covered northwestern

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Torrance and northeastern

Valencia counties until 8:45 p.m.,

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citing up to 2.5

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inches of rain already fallen.

183

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Additional warnings covered northwestern

Socorro County, south central Grant

184

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County, and the Lake Roberts area.

185

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Separately, the Monument Fire, a new

large incident under New Mexico State

186

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Forestry's Capitan District 7 miles south

of Tinnie, was reported at 350 acres and

187

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zero percent containment with minimal

fire behavior and no threats listed.

188

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No evacuations or

sheltering were reported.

189

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North Carolina: A 30 inch water main

broke in the early hours of Monday,

190

:

placing Cary and Morrisville customers

in the Central Pressure Zone under a

191

:

precautionary System Pressure Advisory.

192

:

Following state Division of Water

Resources guidance, affected customers

193

:

were told to boil water for one minute

or use bottled water, with the advisory

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in effect through at least 12:01 a.m.

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Tuesday.

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The Town of Cary stated no harmful

bacteria had been detected.

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NC 55 closed in both directions between

Jenks Road and Lewey Drive, with

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one lane each way expected by 7 a.m.

199

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Apex and Raleigh Durham International

Airport were not affected.

200

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Reporting put the affected population

at roughly 50,000 customers with

201

:

30 schools dismissing early.

202

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The Town has since posted that the

advisory is lifted with all post

203

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break testing clear of bacteria.

204

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Separately, the Wilmington forecast

office issued a Beach Hazards

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:

Statement Monday at 8:17 p.m.

206

:

for coastal Pender and New Hanover

counties for a strong longshore

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current and moderate rip current

risk through Tuesday evening.

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:

North Dakota: A Federal Register

notice published this morning covers

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the Public Assistance only major

disaster declaration for North Dakota,

210

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FEMA-4934-DR, for severe storms, straight

line winds, and tornadoes, with an

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incident period of June 7 to 9, 2026,

in Bottineau, Burke, Divide, McLean,

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:

Mercer, Oliver, and Williams counties.

213

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Small Business Administration physical

,:

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and economic injury filings June 1, 2027.

215

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Separately, the National Weather Service

issued a High Wind Warning Monday for

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:

western into north central North Dakota

with west winds 30 to 40 mph and gusts to

217

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60 mph, plus Wind Advisories with gusts

to 55 mph across 10 additional counties.

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No outage counts or damage

reports were confirmed.

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Oklahoma: Oklahoma Emergency

Management issued an immediate

220

:

evacuation alert at 5:30 p.m.

221

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Monday for a large and destructive

wildfire burning out of control north

222

:

of Atoka and spreading rapidly north

along the west side of Atoka Reservoir,

223

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directing residents between Highway

69, East Tower Road, and North Coal

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:

Creek Road to leave immediately and

evacuate northwest toward Lehigh.

225

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All Atoka County fire departments plus

Coal County crews, Oklahoma State Forestry

226

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ground and air resources, Choctaw Nation

Forestry, Bureau of Indian Affairs

227

:

fire departments, and EMS responded.

228

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The evacuation order was later lifted.

229

:

Separately, the Norman forecast office

issued a Fire Warning at 3:32 p.m.

230

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at the request of Oklahoma Forestry

Services and Roger Mills County Emergency

231

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Management for northeastern Roger Mills

County, for a dangerous wildfire 5 miles

232

:

east of Roll moving north at 2 mph and

impacting Oklahoma 47, with responders

233

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told to anticipate wind driven runs,

torching, and spot fires that may exceed

234

:

traditional offensive suppression tactics.

235

:

The Gracemont Fire in Caddo County

remained at approximately 3,000 acres

236

:

and zero percent containment with

extreme fire behavior including short

237

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range spotting, wind driven runs, and

crowning, and evacuations in effect.

238

:

Oklahoma Forestry Services mobilized

Task Force Goldsby and Task Force

239

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Weatherford, citing energy release

components in the 90th percentile and

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fine dead fuel moisture near 5 percent.

241

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Oregon: Three Mt.

242

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Hood National Forest fires

continue to carry evacuations plus

243

:

area, road, and trail closures.

244

:

The Austin Fire, 25 miles southeast of

Estacada, stood at 12,879 acres and 60

245

:

percent containment with 840 personnel.

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:

The Narrows Fire, 15 miles

southeast of Estacada, was at 304

247

:

acres and 89 percent containment.

248

:

The Grasshopper Fire, 14 miles

southwest of Dufur, reached 94,003

249

:

acres and 97 percent containment

with numerous structures threatened.

250

:

Fire behavior was minimal at all three,

with precipitation over the Austin and

251

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Grasshopper fire areas the prior day.

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:

South Carolina: The Wilmington

forecast office issued a Beach

253

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Hazards Statement Monday at 8:17 p.m.

254

:

covering coastal Georgetown County,

warning of a strong longshore current

255

:

and moderate rip current risk from 6 a.m.

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Tuesday through Tuesday evening.

257

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No other material updates in the window.

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South Dakota: A Federal Register

notice published Monday covers the

259

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Public Assistance only major disaster

declaration for South Dakota,

260

:

FEMA-4938-DR, dated September 1, 2026.

261

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Recovery staff should review the

designated areas and filing timelines.

262

:

Texas: Texas A&M Forest Service

responded to several new wildfires

263

:

Monday afternoon under elevated fire

conditions, and the state remains

264

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at Wildfire Preparedness Level 3.

265

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The Arrowhead Fire in Clay County, north

of East Arrowhead Drive roughly 8 miles

266

:

southwest of Henrietta, was reported at

700 acres and zero percent containment,

267

:

with aircraft scooping from Lake Arrowhead

and road closures around the lake.

268

:

The Clay County Sheriff's

Office reported at 10 p.m.

269

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that unified command had stopped

all forward progress, with hotspots

270

:

and flare ups still being worked

and crews remaining overnight.

271

:

The Elm Creek Fire in Limestone

County along County Road 334 near

272

:

Mart was reported at 754 acres and

50 percent containment after growing

273

:

substantially through the evening.

274

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The Hydra Fire in Bosque County near

the old V Bar Ranch off County Road

275

:

1035 was reported at 400 acres and 5

percent containment, with no mandatory

276

:

evacuation orders in place and

voluntary evacuation notifications made.

277

:

The Upton 3 Fire in Tom Green County

also drew a Forest Service response.

278

:

The Ross Fire in Palo Pinto and

Jack counties stands at 90,400

279

:

acres and approximately 88 percent

containment with 157 structures

280

:

destroyed, 140 damaged, and 453 saved.

281

:

On the recovery side, a Federal Register

notice published Monday amended the

282

:

Public Assistance only declaration

FEMA-:

283

:

Administration administrative declaration

published Monday for severe storms

284

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and tornadoes with an August 28, 2026

incident date names Bexar County as

285

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primary, with physical damage filings

,:

286

:

injury filings due June 10, 2027.

287

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Utah: A Small Business Administration

administrative declaration published

288

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Monday covers the Cottonwood Fire

and flooding for the June 22 to

289

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July 24, 2026 incident period,

naming Beaver County as primary.

290

:

Physical damage filings are due

,:

291

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injury filings June 9, 2027.

292

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The Slough Canyon Fire 41 miles east

of Price holds at 4,774 acres and 66

293

:

percent containment with no acreage

change and no threats or closures listed.

294

:

Wyoming: The Moonshine Fire, under

the Bureau of Land Management High

295

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Desert District 17 miles southwest of

Wheatland in the central Laramie Range,

296

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stood at 7,170 acres and 46 percent

containment, a gain of 380 acres, with

297

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active fire behavior including backing,

torching, and short range spotting.

298

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Residences are threatened and

evacuations are in effect.

299

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The lightning caused fire has 333

assigned personnel, has destroyed two

300

:

structures, started in Albany County, and

has crossed into Platte County under a

301

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Wyoming Type 3 incident management team.

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Puerto Rico: Two separate generating unit

failures on Monday forced LUMA Energy

303

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to run load shedding twice in one day.

304

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San Juan Unit 5 went offline

suddenly around noon, and

305

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Genera PR announced at 5 p.m.

306

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that the combustion turbine was back in

service while warning the system still

307

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faced roughly 140 megawatts of capacity

shortfall for that evening's peak.

308

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Aguirre Unit 2, which had 275 megawatts

of available capacity beforehand, then

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tripped unexpectedly Monday evening.

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LUMA reported 107,914 customers

without service at 6:40 p.m.,

311

:

about 7.35

312

:

percent of its 1,468,223 subscribers, with

San Juan hardest hit at 54,462 customers,

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followed by Ponce at 13,028, Bayamon at

11,975, Caguas at 8,508, Arecibo at 7,781,

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Mayaguez at 6,957, and Carolina at 5,203.

315

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Genera PR is investigating the cause.

316

:

Costa Sur Unit 5 and AES Unit

1 were already out of service

317

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from the prior weekend.

318

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LUMA reports 18 load

shedding events since July.

319

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Note that reported customer counts for

Monday's midday event vary across outlets,

320

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from roughly 86,000 to more than 179,000,

and this brief uses the figures LUMA's own

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portal reported at the timestamps cited.

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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.,

324

:

so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

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:

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Network on Substack, or follow

326

:

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:

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328

:

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