The nation holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 94 uncontained large fires and more than 28,700 personnel committed. A federal emergency declaration is in effect for Washington as the Spokane Area Fires force roughly 65,000 evacuations and destroy more than 600 structures. Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire puts Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood Meadows under Level 3 evacuations, and Utah’s Widemouth 2 Fire tops 84,000 acres with evacuation orders in Fillmore, Kanosh, and Meadow. Also in this episode: extreme heat warnings across the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, new CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, a possible water system cyberattack under investigation in Georgia’s Clayton County, and continuing Level 4 Do Not Travel advisories for the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. 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 posture: The nation remains at Preparedness Level 5 with 94 uncontained large fires, 28,700 plus personnel committed, and 5.4 million acres burned year to date, well above the 10-year average.

• Washington: A federal emergency declaration is in effect. The Spokane Area Fires have displaced roughly 65,000 people and destroyed more than 600 structures; all previously unaccounted persons are safe.

• Oregon: Level 3 Go Now evacuations cover Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge from the Grasshopper Fire; the Rowe Creek Complex, Big Grass, and Coleman Creek fires remain among the largest in the nation.

• Utah: The Widemouth 2 Fire is at 84,409 acres with no containment; evacuation orders stand for portions of Fillmore, Kanosh, and Meadow with a shelter open in Fillmore.

• Extreme heat: NWS extreme heat warnings run through Sunday for parts of Arizona and the Imperial Valley with highs to 118 degrees; near 100 degree heat continues in the Pacific Northwest.

• Cyber: CISA added Langflow, Apache Tomcat, and N-able N-central flaws to the KEV catalog this week; Clayton County, Georgia is investigating a possible cyberattack on its water operations.

• Travel: The State Department holds Level 4 Do Not Travel advisories for the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan amid the Ebola response, with an additional $242 million in planned funding.

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Sources

NIFC

• NIFC National Fire News: August 5 daily update with Preparedness Level 5, national statistics, and state fire details

FEMA

• FEMA press release: President approves emergency declaration for Washington wildfires

• FEMA fact sheet: How FEMA’s emergency assistance benefits Washington wildfire response

CISA

• CISA alert, August 5: CISA adds one Known Exploited Vulnerability to catalog

• CISA alert, August 4: CISA adds three Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to catalog

• The Hacker News: CISA flags Langflow RCE, Tomcat, and N-central flaws as actively exploited

NOAA and NWS

• National Hurricane Center: Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook, no Atlantic development expected over seven days

• NWS Phoenix Extreme Heat Warning: Warning issued August 5, in effect through August 9, highs 104 to 118 degrees

State Department

• Ebola Response Update, August 5: Level 4 Do Not Travel remains for DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan; additional $242 million in response funding

Georgia

• Atlanta News First: Clayton County boil water advisory possibly related to cyberattack

• NBC News: FBI says hackers targeted municipal water systems in seven states

Idaho

• InciWeb, Tartar Fire: Incident information for the Tartar Fire, Boise District BLM

Minnesota

• WTIP: Wildfires and response across Superior National Forest and the BWCAW

Oregon

• InciWeb, Grasshopper Fire: Incident information for the Grasshopper Fire, Mt. Hood National Forest

• KPTV: Timberline Lodge under evacuation order, Bench Fire evacuations lifted

• Central Oregon Fire Information: Rowe Creek Fire update, August 5

Utah

• InciWeb, Widemouth 2 Fire: Incident information for the Widemouth 2 Fire, Fishlake National Forest

• KUTV: Widemouth 2 Fire jumps containment line south of Kanosh, expanding evacuations

Washington

• InciWeb, Sinlahekin Fire: Incident information for the Sinlahekin Fire, Washington DNR

• KHQ: Evacuations and structure losses in the Spokane Area Fires

Good morning.

The nation remains at preparedness level 5, the highest tier where it has stood since July 18.

The National Interagency Fire center reports 97 new fires yesterday, including three new large fires and 94 uncontained large fires burning nationwide with more than 28,700 personnel assigned.

National support includes 27 complex incident management teams, firefighters from Australia and New Zealand, and four C130 air tankers.

A federal emergency declaration is in effect for Washington in response to the wildfires.

Official update published within the last 48 hours extreme heat continues to drive fire risk across the west the National Weather Service in Phoenix issued an extreme heat warning Wednesday in effect through Sunday evening with afternoon highs of 104 to 118 degrees around across south central Arizona and California's Imperial Valley.

Heat alerts also cover the Pacific Northwest, where temperatures near 100 degrees are expected in the Willamette Valley and overnight humidity recovery remains poor across much of the fire area in the Atlantic.

The National Hurricane center reports no tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next seven days.

On the cyber front, CISA added new entries to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog this week, most recently on Wednesday.

Separately, the State Department published an Ebola response update Wednesday.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan remain at level four do not travel and the department intends to provide an additional $242 million for regional response and preparedness.

Let's run through the states.

Five large fires are burning 22,321 acres.

The Gan Fire southeast of Valley springs stands at 6,495 acres with no containment, while the Rock Fire north of independence is 98% contained at 12,008 acres.

Very low humidity and continued extreme heat keep fire potential elevated statewide.

Colorado the Aspen Acres fire northwest of rye holds at 101,961 acres and 71% containment.

Five large fires are burning 152,695 acres statewide and isolated dry thunderstorms are possible across southern Colorado today.

Georgia Columbus Clayton county is investigating possible unauthorized cyber activity behind a pump station failure that disrupted water operations in north Clayton and prompted a boil water advisory.

The advisory has been lifted after testing showed the water is safe.

The investigation follows federal warnings about cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems in multiple states.

Idaho the Tartar fire northwest of weiser has burned 138,271 acres and is 41% contained.

A new large fire, the Cascade Fire, was reported on the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest east of Lowell.

Seven large fires are burning 145,038 acres statewide.

We have more to cover this morning, but first a quick word from the sponsor supporting today's episode.

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Now back to this Morning's updates.

Minnesota Six large fires are burning nearly 70,000 acres in the Superior National Forest, led by the Bear trap fire at 29,778 acres and 40% containment north of Ely.

Recent rain has helped crews raise containment across the July lightning incident fires.

Portions of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness have reopened, but Class 4 burning restrictions remain in Cook Lake, Kuchiching and northern St. Louis counties and the state's peacetime emergency continues.

Montana Nine large fires are burning 15,120 acres.

The Silvertip Fire northeast of Condon is the largest at 6,196 acres and 1% containment.

A new fire, the Kimmet Fire in Hill county burned a thousand acres and is fully contained.

Nevada the Ward Fire on the Humboldt Toyabe National Forest continues to exhibit extreme fire behavior at 8,728 acres with no containment.

Five large fires are burning more than 102,000 acres statewide, including the 38,000 acre Mouse Meadow Fire on Nellis Air Force Base land.

New Mexico Two new large fires were reported the Frio fire east of Albuquerque at 152 acres and 19% containment, and the Elbar Ranch fire northeast of Cebollieta at 170 acres and 5% containment.

Isolated dry thunderstorms are possible across northern New Mexico today.

Oregon Oregon leads the nation with 32 large fires on more than 1.65 million acres.

The Grasshopper Fire on the Mount Hood National Forest has pushed Level 3 GoNOW evacuations to Mount Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge came under evacuation orders Wednesday.

The Rogue Creek Complex south of fossil has burned 325,265 acres at 57% containment.

The big Grass Fire near Jordan Valley stands at 346,678 acres and 35% and the Coleman Creek fire near Juntura is at 2.78,128 acres and 32%.

Utah the Widemouth 2 fire southwest of Kanosh has grown to 84,409 acres, which with no containment after adding more than 16,000 acres in a single day.

Evacuation orders remain in place for portions of Fillmore, Kanosh and Meadow, with an emergency shelter open at the old National Guard Armory in Fillmore.

A federal emergency declaration is in effect for the wildfires.

Official update published within the last 48 hours, the Spokane area fires have forced roughly 65,000 evacuations and destroyed more than 600 structures, with officials reporting about 640 lost in the Old Trails Fire alone.

All 14 people previously unaccounted for are confirmed safe and some evacuation zones have been downgraded.

The Sinlahakin Fire west of tanasket has burned 117,078 acres at 9% containment the Little Giant Fire northwest of Leavenworth tops 70,000 acres with no containment and the Kaiser Canyon Fire near Nespelum stands at 136,713 acres and 48%.

Sixteen large fires are burning more than 432,000 acres statewide.

All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.

That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.

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