Latest / EM Morning Brief / PG&E may cut power to 70,000 customers across 29 counties as Red Flag Warnings go up in Southern California; flash flooding in Oklahoma and Texas activates swiftwater rescue teams

Transcript

PG&E may cut power to 70,000 customers across 29 counties as Red Flag Warnings go up in Southern California; flash flooding in Oklahoma and Texas activates swiftwater rescue teams · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: California carries the broadest fire weather setup in the country this morning.
• 0:11
  Cedric: Pacific Gas and Electric has notified roughly 70,000 customers across 29 counties that it may proactively turn off power for safety beginning Wednesday evening and continuing through Saturday afternoon.
• 0:25
  Cedric: Offshore Diablo winds peak Thursday across the northern and central Sierra and portions of the North and East Bay.
• 0:33
  Cedric: In Southern California, the National Weather Service in Oxnard has upgraded its fire weather watches to Red Flag Warnings covering most valleys and coasts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties from 6 a.m.
• 0:45
  Cedric: Thursday to 10 p.m.
• 0:46
  Cedric: Friday, with northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusts of 40 to 50 mph, and minimum relative humidity of 5 to 15 percent.
• 0:57
  Cedric: A separate system is producing active flooding across the southern Plains.
• 1:03
  Cedric: Flash Flood Warnings are running in western and central Oklahoma this morning, where radar estimates 3 to 6 inches of rain have already fallen in Beckham County, and flood watches now cover 31 Oklahoma counties along with five counties in
• 1:17
  Cedric: north Texas through Thursday afternoon.
• 1:20
  Cedric: Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources ahead of the threat, which the state attributes to the remnants of Hurricane Simon.
• 1:34
  Cedric: On the federal side, an Energy Department emergency order directing PJM Interconnection to dispatch specified generating units, and authorizing PJM to call on backup generation as a last resort, took effect Tuesday and runs through October 16.
• 1:49
  Cedric: CISA has added an actively exploited Ivanti Connect Secure zero day to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and set a federal remediation deadline of October 16.
• 2:01
  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
• 2:03
  Cedric: Alabama.
• 2:04
  Cedric: The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has issued a Code Orange air quality alert for Jefferson and Shelby counties covering today, with ground level ozone forecast to reach concentrations unhealthy for sensitive groups.
• 2:18
  Cedric: Children and people with asthma are the populations most at risk.
• 2:23
  Cedric: Alaska.
• 2:24
  Cedric: The Alaska Volcano Observatory reports that the slow eruption of lava within the summit crater of Great Sitkin continues, with the volcano held at alert level Watch and aviation color code Orange.
• 2:37
  Cedric: In the southeast panhandle, a stronger atmospheric river arrives early Thursday and runs through at least Friday morning, and the Weather Service has posted flood watches for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Annette Island, Petersburg Borough, Prince of Wales Island and
• 2:52
  Cedric: the City and Borough of Wrangell for significant river rises with the potential for at least minor flooding.
• 2:59
  Cedric: A Storm Warning is also up from Cape Spencer to Cape Fairweather for east winds of 35 to 45 knots, gusts to 55 knots, and seas of 15 to 20 feet Thursday morning.
• 3:12
  Cedric: California.
• 3:14
  Cedric: Pacific Gas and Electric began day ahead notifications Tuesday afternoon for a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff affecting about 70,000 customers in 29 counties, and the utility is conducting in person visits to Medical Baseline customers who have not confirmed
• 3:31
  Cedric: receipt of the safety notifications.
• 3:34
  Cedric: Roughly 4,000 customers affected by shutoffs earlier in the week may be in scope again.
• 3:39
  Cedric: Mono winds strengthen Friday in the southern Sierra, with Santa Ana winds expanding into the southern Los Padres and across the Tehachapis.
• 3:48
  Cedric: A Fire Weather Watch covers the interior mountains of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties for Friday, and the Tehachapi area and Fort Tejon are under a separate watch.
• 3:59
  Cedric: The Weather Service has also issued Heat Advisories for temperatures to 95 degrees across the Los Angeles and Central Coast areas Thursday through Saturday, and a High Wind Watch runs through Friday evening for the Inland Empire, the Santa Ana
• 4:14
  Cedric: Mountains, and the San Diego County valleys and mountains.
• 4:18
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 4:22
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 4:27
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 4:30
  Cedric: Florida.
• 4:31
  Cedric: Minor river flooding continues along the Myakka River at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County, where the stage stands at 7.1 feet against a bankfull stage of 7.0 feet and picnic areas and adjacent parking lots flood at 7.3
• 4:45
  Cedric: feet.
• 4:46
  Cedric: A separate flood warning remains in effect for Lake and Volusia counties.
• 4:51
  Cedric: Hawaii.
• 4:53
  Cedric: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports multiple lava overflows and low fountaining from the north vent at Kilauea over the past 24 hours.
• 5:01
  Cedric: The summit remains at a high level of pressurization, and the observatory states that changes in eruptive activity or in the location of activity within the summit region are possible.
• 5:12
  Cedric: Kilauea is at alert level Watch with aviation color code Orange.
• 5:17
  Cedric: Indiana.
• 5:18
  Cedric: Residents of 24 designated counties affected by the August 11 to 24 storms, tornadoes and flooding have until Sunday, October 25 to apply for FEMA individual assistance.
• 5:30
  Cedric: Eligible survivors can receive help with uninsured home repairs, personal property, vehicle damage, medical expenses including accessibility items, moving and storage, and temporary housing reimbursement.
• 5:43
  Cedric: Kansas.
• 5:45
  Cedric: Flood watches issued overnight cover 20 counties in the Wichita forecast area and three counties in the Topeka area through Thursday afternoon, with excessive runoff expected to flood rivers, creeks, streams and poor drainage areas.
• 5:59
  Cedric: A flood warning ran for Barber County into early this morning.
• 6:03
  Cedric: Michigan.
• 6:04
  Cedric: The Department of Natural Resources is managing three wildfires in the Upper Peninsula.
• 6:09
  Cedric: The Ridge Fire in Negaunee Township stands at 450 acres and 20 percent containment, the Craig Lake Fire in Baraga County at 568 acres and 20 percent, and the Black River Fire in Gogebic County at 300 acres and 50
• 6:24
  Cedric: percent.
• 6:26
  Cedric: Negaunee Township holds at ready evacuation status, the posture that tells residents to be prepared to leave on short notice.
• 6:34
  Cedric: Rain has slowed surface spread, but fire is burning as deep as two feet into the soil, and crews are hand digging line where bulldozers cannot reach.
• 6:44
  Cedric: Agencies across the peninsula are moving additional equipment in, and the department plans aerial mapping by drone once the rain clears.
• 6:52
  Cedric: Missouri.
• 6:54
  Cedric: A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for Lawrence County into this morning, and flood watches cover 16 counties in the Springfield forecast area plus three counties in the Kansas City area through Thursday.
• 7:06
  Cedric: The Springfield watch runs through Thursday evening.
• 7:10
  Cedric: New Mexico.
• 7:11
  Cedric: A Flash Flood Warning covered Lea County early this morning, and High Wind Watches run through Friday for the middle and lower Rio Grande valleys, the Albuquerque metropolitan area, the south central highlands, the Tularosa Basin and the Bootheel.
• 7:27
  Cedric: Oklahoma.
• 7:27
  Cedric: Flash Flood Warnings cover Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Custer, Kingfisher and Washita counties this morning.
• 7:34
  Cedric: Radar indicates 3 to 6 inches of rain have fallen in Beckham County with up to another inch possible, and the Weather Service lists Elk City, Sayre, Erick, Carter, Texola, Delhi and Retrop among the locations expected to see flash
• 7:48
  Cedric: flooding.
• 7:49
  Cedric: Flood advisories extend into western Oklahoma County, taking in part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, where 1 to 2 inches have fallen.
• 7:58
  Cedric: A flood watch for 31 counties runs from 7 a.m.
• 8:01
  Cedric: today through Thursday afternoon, and a second watch covers 11 counties in the Tulsa forecast area.
• 8:08
  Cedric: South Carolina.
• 8:10
  Cedric: Minor flooding is occurring on the Congaree River affecting Calhoun, Lexington and Richland counties, with the gauge at Congaree National Park near Gadsden reading 16.2 feet against a bankfull stage of 14.0 feet.
• 8:24
  Cedric: Flooding of the lower boardwalk in the national park begins at 15.0 feet.
• 8:29
  Cedric: The warning runs until late Thursday night.
• 8:32
  Cedric: Texas.
• 8:33
  Cedric: Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources ahead of heavy rainfall and flash flooding across West Texas.
• 8:43
  Cedric: Available assets include Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2 swiftwater rescue boat squads and urban search and rescue teams, Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens with rescue boats and hoist capable helicopters, Department of Public Safety
• 9:00
  Cedric: troopers and the Tactical Marine Unit, Emergency Medical Task Force severe weather support packages, and Texas A&M Forest Service all hazards strike teams.
• 9:10
  Cedric: A flood watch covers 19 counties in the Permian Basin and West Texas plus the Big Bend region through Friday morning, and five Panhandle counties are under a separate watch.
• 9:22
  Cedric: Washington.
• 9:24
  Cedric: The Sisi Fire 10 miles northwest of Stehekin has grown 155 acres to 4,594 acres at 34 percent containment, with moderate fire behavior and residences threatened.
• 9:35
  Cedric: It is the least contained large fire in the Northwest geographic area.
• 9:40
  Cedric: On the Little Giant Fire, which has burned 172,906 acres at 95 percent containment with 40 structures lost, command transfers from the complex incident management team back to the local unit.
• 9:54
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 9:56
  Cedric: New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T., so the day starts with clarity instead of catch-up.
• 10:04
  Cedric: Follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 10:06
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 10:09
  Cedric: Stay Safe.