Severe weather across the Midwest and Ohio Valley leaves three people dead, spawns tornadoes near Chicago, and triggers flash flood emergencies in Indiana, where Governor Braun declares a disaster emergency for 18 counties and Ohio activates the National Guard. The nation holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 101 uncontained large fires and more than 30,000 personnel committed, including Level 3 evacuations for Washington’s Little Giant Fire and destroyed homes on Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire. Kilauea begins Episode 53 of its summit eruption, CISA adds three exploited vulnerabilities to its KEV catalog, and federal officials warn about continuing cyberattacks on municipal water systems. 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

• Midwest severe weather: Three deaths, confirmed tornadoes near Chicago, and roughly 670,000 customers still without power Wednesday morning across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; ComEd targets 80 percent restoration by midday Thursday.

• Indiana: Disaster emergency declared for 18 counties; flash flood emergencies in Fayette, Union, and Wayne counties after up to 10 inches of rain; Connersville area evacuations along the Whitewater River.

• Ohio: State of emergency declared; 40 National Guard members and 20 tactical vehicles deployed for flood rescue support; lightning strike at a Grafton prison sends 16 people to hospitals.

• National wildfire: Preparedness Level 5 continues with 101 uncontained large fires and 6.4 million acres burned year to date, 155 percent of the 10 year average; the Northwest holds 44 uncontained large fires.

• Northwest evacuations: Level 3 Go Now orders for Washington’s Little Giant Fire in Chelan County and Oregon’s Grasshopper Fire, which has destroyed six homes in Wasco County.

• Hawaii: Kilauea begins Episode 53 with lava fountains of 80 to 100 feet; alert level Watch, aviation code Orange; hazards confined to the closed national park area.

• Cyber: CISA adds three actively exploited vulnerabilities affecting Cisco ASA and FTD, Windows, and Metabase to the KEV catalog; water utilities remain under a multi-state attack campaign.

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Sources

National wildfire

• NIFC National Fire News: daily national summary, statistics, and state large fire lists

• NIFC Incident Management Situation Report: August 12 national SITREP (PDF)

CISA

• CISA: Adds three known exploited vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog (August 11)

• CISA: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

Water sector cybersecurity

• NPR: Cyberattacks on the US water sector expose vulnerabilities (August 12)

USGS volcanoes

• USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Kilauea volcano updates, Episode 53

• USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory: Great Sitkin status notice (August 12)

Tropical weather

• National Hurricane Center: Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

• The Watchers: Tropical Storm Cristobal forms, third named storm of the 2026 Atlantic season

Midwest severe weather

• AP via US News: Deaths and damage reported as severe weather spawns tornadoes and flash flooding

• NBC News: Three dead, almost one million without power as severe storms strike the Midwest

Illinois

• CBS Chicago: Nearly 400,000 still without power after severe storms; ComEd restoration estimates

Indiana

• State of Indiana: Governor Braun declares state of disaster emergency for 18 counties

• FOX Weather: Flash flood emergencies issued across Indiana as life-threatening flooding lashes the state

• FOX19: Southeast Indiana flash flood emergency and Connersville area evacuations

Ohio

• Dayton Daily News: Ohio National Guard activated, state of emergency issued for parts of Ohio

Oregon

• OPB: Six houses burned, 200 buildings threatened by the Grasshopper Fire near Mount Hood

• KPTV: Wildfire updates, Highway 35 closed again east of Government Camp, flags lowered for fallen firefighter

Washington

• InciWeb: Little Giant Fire incident information

• FOX 13 Seattle: Little Giant wildfire prompts Level 3 Go Now evacuations in Chelan County

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

2

for Thursday, August 13, 2026.

3

The nation remains at Preparedness Level

5, the highest tier, with firefighters

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working to contain 101 uncontained large

fires and more than 30,000 personnel

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assigned to incidents nationwide.

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Eighty-four new fires were reported

Tuesday, including seven new large fires.

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So far this year, 46,509 wildfires

have burned more than 6.4

8

million acres, running 126 percent and

155 percent of the 10 year averages.

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The Northwest remains the most active

geographic area with 44 uncontained large

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fires, and forecasters expect elevated

to locally critical fire weather across

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eastern New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma,

and southern Kansas with gusts to 35

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mph, temperatures near 105 degrees,

and humidity as low as 10 percent.

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In the Midwest and Ohio Valley, two

days of severe weather have left three

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people dead, including a 4 year old boy

killed by a falling tree in Indiana.

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The National Weather Service

confirmed three tornadoes in Chicago's

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southern suburbs, and flash flood

emergencies were issued in Indiana

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as up to 10 inches of rain fell.

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Indiana Governor Mike Braun declares

a state of disaster emergency for

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18 counties, and Ohio Governor

Mike DeWine declares a state of

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emergency and activates the Ohio

National Guard for rescue operations.

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As of Wednesday morning, more than 220,000

customers in Ohio and another 450,000

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across Indiana and Illinois remained

without power; ComEd expects roughly 80

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percent of its outages restored by midday

today and 99 percent by Saturday night.

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In Hawaii, Episode 53 of the Kilauea

summit eruption began Wednesday afternoon

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with lava fountains reaching 80 to 100

feet; the volcano is at alert level

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Watch with aviation color code Orange.

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On the cyber front, CISA added three

known exploited vulnerabilities affecting

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Cisco firewalls, Microsoft Windows, and

Metabase to its KEV catalog (official

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update published about 40 hours ago), and

federal officials continue to warn about

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an ongoing campaign targeting municipal

water systems in at least a dozen states.

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In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Cristobal

is far from land near the Azores

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with no coastal watches or warnings

and is forecast to dissipate today,

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while the National Hurricane Center

monitors a central Atlantic system

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with a high chance of development.

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Let's run through the states.

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Alaska: The Tatlanika Fire is

burning 31,000 acres 23 miles east

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of Clear and is 15 percent contained.

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California: Six large fires

are burning 18,047 acres.

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The Timber Fire near Big Sur stands at

2,989 acres and 5 percent containment,

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and the MP18 Fire near Hoopa is

at 2,107 acres and 10 percent.

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The Gann Fire near Valley Springs is

94 percent contained at 10,339 acres.

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Colorado: Six large fires

are burning 158,579 acres.

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The Aspen Acres Fire near Rye holds

at 102,004 acres and 72 percent

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containment, the Gold Mountain Fire

near Ouray is 87 percent contained at

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39,646 acres, and the Elk Fire near Lake

City is at 7,404 acres and 35 percent.

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Florida: A new large fire, the Jones

Island Fire, is burning 700 acres at

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Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge

northwest of DeLand with no containment.

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Hawaii: Episode 53 of the ongoing Kilauea

summit eruption began at 3:45 p.m.

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Wednesday, Hawaii time, with

fountains of 80 to 100 feet from

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the north vent in Halemaumau.

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The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

holds the volcano at Watch and

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aviation color code Orange.

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Hazards remain confined to the

closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes

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National Park, with volcanic gas

and Pele's hair possible downwind.

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Idaho: Ten large fires

are burning 174,818 acres.

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The Tartar Fire northwest of Weiser is

93 percent contained at 158,027 acres.

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The Big Grass Fire, managed from

Oregon, extends into Owyhee County.

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Smaller fires, including Moose

Mountain and Doublesprings, remain

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in early stages of containment.

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Illinois: The National Weather Service

confirmed three tornadoes in Chicago's

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south suburbs, including EF1 damage

in southern Cook and eastern Will

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counties, with wind gusts up to 96

mph downing trees and power lines.

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Severe storms cut power to more than

half a million customers in the Chicago

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area and northwest Indiana at the peak.

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ComEd has nearly 3,000 workers in

the field and estimates about 80

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percent of outages restored by noon

today and 99 percent by 11 p.m.

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Saturday.

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Indiana: Governor Mike Braun declares

a state of disaster emergency for 18

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counties hit by tornadoes and flooding,

and the State Emergency Operations

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Center is at Level 3 activation.

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Flash flood emergencies were issued

Wednesday for Fayette, Union, and Wayne

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counties after 7 to 10 inches of rain fell

across western Wayne County in 24 hours.

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Residents in parts of Connersville were

asked to evacuate as the Whitewater

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River rose toward a forecast crest

near 23 feet, and deputies conducted

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vehicle rescues from high water.

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A 4 year old boy died when

a tree fell on his home.

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Minnesota: Five large fires are

burning 65,128 acres in the Superior

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National Forest north of Ely.

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The Bear Trap Fire is at 29,991 acres

and 44 percent containment, and the Thumb

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Fire is at 17,634 acres and 48 percent.

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Montana: Nine large fires

are burning 46,057 acres.

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The Sand Creek Fire southeast of

Wisdom is at 19,683 acres with no

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containment, the Bobcat Lakes Fire

east of Wisdom is at 8,521 acres, and

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the Silvertip Fire northeast of Condon

is at 6,501 acres, all uncontained.

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A new fire, White Rock, is

burning southwest of Malta

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at 50 percent containment.

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Nevada: Five large fires

are burning 188,096 acres.

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The Bug Fire near Hallelujah Junction

is at 57,966 acres with no containment,

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the Mouse Meadow Fire on the Nellis

range is 65 percent contained at

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52,000 acres, and a new fire, the

Stallion Fire west of Nixon, is at

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31,548 acres with no containment.

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We have more to cover this morning,

but first, a quick word from the

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sponsor supporting today’s episode.

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Thanks for supporting the 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: Elevated to locally

critical fire weather is forecast

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across the eastern part of the state.

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The Frijoles Fire in the Pecos Wilderness

is at 6,214 acres with no containment.

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Ohio: Governor Mike DeWine declares

a state of emergency and activates

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the Ohio National Guard, deploying 40

members and 20 tactical vehicles to

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assist rescue efforts in flooded areas.

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More than 220,000 customers remained

without power early Wednesday.

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Dayton set a daily rainfall record of 2.07

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inches, breaking a mark from 1915,

and a lightning strike at a prison

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in Grafton sent 16 people to

hospitals, one by medical helicopter.

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One storm related death

is reported in the state.

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Oklahoma: The Mill Creek Fire north of

Stringtown is at 218 acres and 30 percent

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containment, and critical fire weather

is forecast across much of the state.

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Oregon: Twenty-three large

fires are burning more than 1.9

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million acres, the most of any state.

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The Grasshopper Fire near Mount

Hood has destroyed six homes and 15

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outbuildings in Wasco County, threatens

about 200 structures, and holds 20

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percent containment, with Level 3 Go

Now evacuations in parts of Wasco and

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Hood River counties and Highway 35

closed again east of Government Camp.

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The Big Grass Fire in Malheur

County stands at 575,343 acres

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and 36 percent containment.

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Governor Tina Kotek ordered flags

lowered for Jason Ensign, who died

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August 6 while supporting the Wrights

Spring Fire response in Klamath County.

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Pennsylvania: Authorities in western

Pennsylvania report numerous water

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rescues as heavy rain from the

same storm system pushed creeks

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and streams out of their banks.

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South Dakota: The Bear Butte

Fire east of Sturgis is at 457

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acres and 90 percent containment.

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Texas: Critical fire weather

continues with temperatures near

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105 degrees, humidity of 10 to

25 percent, and gusts to 35 mph.

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The Bufford Creek Fire near

Breckenridge is 80 percent contained

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at 3,150 acres, and a new fire, Dos

Pistolas near Falfurrias, is at 1,000

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acres and 70 percent containment.

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Utah: Three large fires

are burning 143,991 acres.

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The Widemouth 2 Fire near Kanosh is at

125,082 acres and 36 percent containment,

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the Rocky Canyon Fire near Henefer is

at 15,366 acres and 25 percent, and

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the Black Canyon Fire southwest of

Price is at 3,543 acres and 9 percent.

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Washington: Twenty large fires

are burning 560,196 acres.

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The Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket is at

150,241 acres and 42 percent containment

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with evacuations and closures in effect.

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The Little Giant Fire northwest of

Leavenworth is at 122,401 acres and

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5 percent containment, prompting

Level 3 Go Now evacuations in Chelan

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County, including the Chiwawa and

Tyee ridges and the Chelan Mountains.

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The Kaiser Canyon Fire near Nespelem is

74 percent contained at 138,218 acres.

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Wyoming: The Weiser Knoll Fire

southeast of Lander is at 16,531 acres

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and 30 percent containment, and the

Cold Springs Fire near Douglas is

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70 percent contained at 1,966 acres.

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All other states and territories have no

significant updates in the last 24 hours.

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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.,

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so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

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EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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Stay Safe.