Latest / EM Morning Brief / West Virginia declares emergency in all 55 counties after flash flooding; Hawaii power restoration passes 86 percent as Lala tracks through Papahanaumokuakea

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West Virginia declares emergency in all 55 counties after flash flooding; Hawaii power restoration passes 86 percent as Lala tracks through Papahanaumokuakea · EM Morning Brief

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  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: Before todays brief I want to remind you to get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.
• 0:13
  Cedric: Link is in the show notes below or search EM Morning Brief.
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  Cedric: Let’s get to it.
• 0:19
  Cedric: Hawaii remains the largest lifeline event in the country.
• 0:22
  Cedric: Nine days after Lala came ashore, Hawaiian Electric reports roughly 33,600 customers still without power statewide as of 8 p.m.
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  Cedric: Tuesday, with Hawaii Island carrying about 24,400 of that total across Puna, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua and South Hilo.
• 0:39
  Cedric: The utility expects 95 percent statewide restoration by Friday, but says remote and severely damaged areas of the south end of Hawaii Island could take at least two more weeks.
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  Cedric: Roughly 100 mainland crew members begin work this week.
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  Cedric: Lala itself is still a hurricane, tracking west through the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
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  Cedric: The Central Pacific Hurricane Center's Tuesday late-morning advisory carried maximum sustained winds near 105 miles per hour with a Hurricane Watch for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from Lisianski Island to Maro Reef, and warned that large surf would likely inundate
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  Cedric: low-lying atolls beginning Wednesday.
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  Cedric: The national wildfire picture stays at Preparedness Level 5, the top of the scale.
• 1:27
  Cedric: The National Interagency Coordination Center's Tuesday situation report counts 76 uncontained large fires and 3,736,566 acres burning across active incidents in nine geographic areas.
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  Cedric: Year to date the country stands at 49,242 fires and 7,278,622 acres, which the report frames as 168 percent of the ten-year average for acres burned.
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  Cedric: The Northwest is the busiest area with 34 uncontained large fires.
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  Cedric: International help is on the ground: 196 fireline personnel from Australia and New Zealand are supporting Northwest and Great Basin incidents, and 240 soldiers out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord are assigned to a fire in eastern Washington.
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  Cedric: On the storm and cyber side, West Virginia's governor declared a State of Emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday after three days of flash flooding and mudslides, and Indiana continues recovery from the August 11 derecho under a federal Emergency
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  Cedric: Declaration.
• 2:29
  Cedric: CISA added four exploited vulnerabilities to its catalog Tuesday, covering Microsoft, Broadcom and Apple products, and is now pointing federal agencies to Binding Operational Directive 26-04, a risk-based prioritization model rather than a uniform patch deadline.
• 2:48
  Cedric: Dangerous heat continues across the Desert Southwest, where Maricopa County has now confirmed 81 heat-related deaths this year.
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  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
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  Cedric: Alaska: The Mukluk Fire at Tok is the state's priority incident.
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  Cedric: Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection reported the fire at roughly 3,000 acres Tuesday morning with about 20 homes damaged and more structures threatened.
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  Cedric: Level 3 GO evacuations remain in force north of the Alaska Highway from Mackenzie Trail to East 5th Street, including Red Fox Drive.
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  Cedric: Forestry warns of downed powerlines, falling trees and ash pits inside the closure, and an incident management team is inbound.
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  Cedric: The fire started Monday near Sundog Trail, and members of the local forestry staff lost their own homes.
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  Cedric: Arizona: An Extreme Heat Warning runs through Friday evening across the southern and western counties, with afternoon highs of 108 to 112 forecast in the Phoenix area.
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  Cedric: The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner has confirmed 81 heat-related deaths this year, against 35 at the same point last year, with 587 more deaths still under investigation as possibly heat-related.
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  Cedric: The county's Heat Relief Network and free transport to cooling centers through 211 remain the operational response.
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  Cedric: California: Two fires carry active evacuations.
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  Cedric: The MP18 Fire in Humboldt County, north of Hoopa, is 6,914 acres and 19 percent contained, with evacuation orders and warnings in place, Highway 96 closed, and structures and communications infrastructure threatened.
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  Cedric: The Timber Fire southeast of Big Sur in Monterey County is 5,189 acres and 21 percent contained, with fire behavior downgraded to minimal.
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  Cedric: Three Monterey County evacuation zones were reduced from orders to warnings Tuesday afternoon.
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  Cedric: Highway 1 remains closed between Big Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and a shelter is open at Carmel Middle School.
• 4:55
  Cedric: Colorado: The National Weather Service in Pueblo issued a Flash Flood Watch early this morning for the Aspen Acres burn scar, the Wet Mountains and the Pueblo vicinity, in effect from 1 p.m.
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  Cedric: to 8 p.m.
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  Cedric: today.
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  Cedric: The office warns that flash flooding and debris flows over the burn scar remain possible.
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  Cedric: The Aspen Acres Fire itself is 102,004 acres at 72 percent containment with 915 structures lost, and area closures remain in effect.
• 5:24
  Cedric: Hawaii: Beyond the power picture, Hawaii County's Department of Water Supply has restored service to Pahala under a boil water notice until further notice, and an essential-needs-only water notice remains in effect for all county customers.
• 5:39
  Cedric: Potable water tankers are staged at four sites on Hawaii Island, and the emergency shelter at Naalehu Elementary gym stays open.
• 5:47
  Cedric: On Oahu, the Board of Water Supply reports low to no pressure in upper metropolitan Honolulu with four fill stations open, and cellular service is still intermittent.
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  Cedric: Public schools statewide resume normal operations today, with two Kau-area campuses closed through Thursday.
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  Cedric: In East Maui, the only access bridge to Lower Nahiku washed out, isolating residents from road access to supplies.
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  Cedric: The Health Department has issued a spoiled-food warning, and Human Services is offering SNAP replacement benefits for food lost to extended outages.
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  Cedric: Idaho: The Big Grass Fire, straddling the Oregon and Idaho line southwest of Jordan Valley, is 579,134 acres and 82 percent contained.
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  Cedric: Evacuations and area closures remain in effect, with an estimated containment date of Saturday.
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  Cedric: Zone-level status in Owyhee County should be confirmed with the sheriff's office.
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  Cedric: Indiana: Recovery from the August 11 derecho remains the state's dominant operation.
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  Cedric: The Indiana Department of Homeland Security reports seven storm-related deaths as of 2 p.m.
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  Cedric: Tuesday across Delaware, Jennings, Lake, LaPorte, Henry and Porter counties, with an eighth Monroe County death still undetermined.
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  Cedric: Statewide outages stood at 98,824 customers at that same hour.
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  Cedric: The federal Emergency Declaration, EM-3651, now covers 53 counties for Public Assistance.
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  Cedric: NIPSCO, which calls this the largest outage event in its history, targets full restoration of remaining customers by late Friday, with a dozen named communities restoring by 5 p.m.
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  Cedric: today.
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  Cedric: The Indiana National Guard is activated.
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  Cedric: Kansas: The Weather Service in Kansas City issued a Flash Flood Warning early this morning for Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties after two to four inches of rain, in effect until 9:15 a.m.
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  Cedric: Central.
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  Cedric: Storms had pushed south and weakened by the time of the update.
• 7:46
  Cedric: Mississippi: Five Disaster Service Centers opened at noon Tuesday for survivors of Tropical Storm Arthur under DR-4930, staffed by MEMA with FEMA and Small Business Administration specialists.
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  Cedric: Individual Assistance covers Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties.
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  Cedric: The centers are in Kiln, Biloxi, Saucier, Poplarville and Wiggins.
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  Cedric: Missouri: St.
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  Cedric: Louis lifted its precautionary boil water advisory at 7:15 a.m.
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  Cedric: Tuesday after testing verified no contamination.
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  Cedric: The advisory had covered three areas across North City, South City and Midtown following storm-related power problems at the Chain of Rocks treatment plant.
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  Cedric: The Kansas City metro flash flood warning also covered Clay, Jackson and Platte counties this morning.
• 8:34
  Cedric: Montana: The Sand Creek Fire east of Wisdom in Beaverhead County is 31,652 acres and just 1 percent contained, with evacuations and road closures in effect and numerous structures threatened.
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  Cedric: The nearby Bobcat Lakes Fire is 9,791 acres at 10 percent.
• 8:52
  Cedric: A new large incident, the Sarpy Fire on the Crow Agency east of Hardin, is 900 acres at zero containment.
• 8:59
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 9:04
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting the sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
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  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
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  Cedric: Nevada: The Shoshone Fire in Churchill County, about 60 miles northeast of Fallon, grew sharply overnight Monday to Tuesday and is now 13,542 acres at zero containment with 179 personnel and five helicopters assigned.
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  Cedric: The lightning-caused fire is moving south and east.
• 9:31
  Cedric: No evacuations or structure losses are reported.
• 9:34
  Cedric: The Bug Fire near Carson City is 87 percent contained and transferring back to local command.
• 9:40
  Cedric: New Mexico: The Frijoles Fire in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties grew 1,997 acres in one operational period to 11,335 acres at 9 percent containment.
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  Cedric: Cundiyo outside Camino de Canon and Cerro Pinon moved up to Set status Tuesday, Camino de Canon remains at Go, and Borrego Mesa, Nambe Pueblo Lake and Cordova remain at Ready.
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  Cedric: New Mexico 503 is closed between County Road 98 and State Road 76, and a new Pecos Wilderness area closure is in effect.
• 10:12
  Cedric: Oklahoma: Cleanup continues at the Explorer Pipeline tank farm in Glenpool after a suspected lightning strike ignited a natural gasoline storage tank Monday morning and the fire spread to three of the site's 31 tanks.
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  Cedric: The Glenpool Fire Department has moved to a supporting role while contract fire and hazard control teams handle removal of wastewater from the site.
• 10:35
  Cedric: Fence-line air monitoring continues in coordination with EPA and has shown no contamination in surrounding areas.
• 10:43
  Cedric: The shelter-in-place was lifted Monday afternoon, but a voluntary evacuation recommendation remains active between 126th and 131st Streets South from Elwood Avenue to Highway 75.
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  Cedric: No injuries were reported.
• 10:57
  Cedric: Oregon: Oregon has the most large fires of any state.
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  Cedric: The Grasshopper Fire southwest of Dufur is 90,667 acres at 49 percent containment with 22 structures lost, and evacuations and closures remain in effect across Wasco, Clackamas and Hood River counties.
• 11:15
  Cedric: The Hagen Fire east of Pendleton is 56,869 acres at 17 percent with evacuations in effect, and command transferred to a Southern Area team today.
• 11:26
  Cedric: The Paradise Fire east of Milton-Freewater is 5,333 acres at zero containment.
• 11:32
  Cedric: On the Rowe Creek Complex south of Fossil, now 89 percent contained, State Fire Marshal structure protection resources have fully demobilized as the threat to communities diminished.
• 11:44
  Cedric: South Carolina: McCormick County Water and Sewer issued a boil water advisory Tuesday evening after a water main break, covering residents along Highway 28 South from Earl Pete Lane to the Lost Wilderness subdivision.
• 11:57
  Cedric: Residents should boil water one full minute until testing clears.
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  Cedric: West Columbia lifted its own boil water advisory at 12:56 p.m.
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  Cedric: Tuesday after repairs and clear samples.
• 12:10
  Cedric: South Dakota: Governor Larry Rhoden signed Executive Order 2026-10 on Tuesday, expanding South Dakota Wildland Fire's assistance and aviation resources to rural fire departments outside the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District.
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  Cedric: The order also extends hay-hauling flexibility through November 15.
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  Cedric: The state has recorded 99 fires this season, with 12 active fires burning more than 13,859 acres.
• 12:38
  Cedric: Utah: Evacuations were lifted on both major Utah fires Tuesday.
• 12:43
  Cedric: Millard County residents evacuated for the Widemouth 2 Fire, now 129,741 acres at 91 percent containment, were cleared to return with advice to stay ready to leave on short notice.
• 12:55
  Cedric: In Summit County, Henefer residents evacuated for the Rocky Canyon Fire, 16,464 acres at 85 percent, were also cleared to return.
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  Cedric: Federal reporting still lists numerous residences threatened on Rocky Canyon, so the threat is not fully retired.
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  Cedric: Washington: The Little Giant Fire northwest of Leavenworth grew another 1,645 acres to 134,635 and remains only 10 percent contained, with 26 structures lost and evacuations, area and road closures in effect under a Chelan County emergency declaration.
• 13:30
  Cedric: The Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket is the state's largest at 153,843 acres and 44 percent contained with 35 structures lost, though fire behavior has moderated.
• 13:42
  Cedric: The Three Queens Fire east of Snoqualmie Pass is 3,636 acres at 2 percent, with Level 3 GO evacuations around Cooper Lake and 36 trails closed, including the Pacific Crest Trail from Snoqualmie Pass to Deception Pass.
• 13:58
  Cedric: Wisconsin: Severe storms crossed southeastern Wisconsin Tuesday evening, downing trees and power lines.
• 14:04
  Cedric: We Energies reported 40,085 customers without power at 10 p.m., with 22,578 in Milwaukee County, 11,318 in Waukesha County and 2,477 in Washington County.
• 14:19
  Cedric: Milwaukee Public Works crews worked to clear trees overnight.
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  Cedric: West Virginia: Governor Patrick Morrisey declared a State of Emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday following three days of slow-moving storms, flash flooding, mudslides and widespread water rescues.
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  Cedric: The declaration runs 30 days and is separate from a July declaration for 12 counties that was extended through September 19.
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  Cedric: In Kanawha County, the commission issued its own countywide emergency: Metro 911 handled 2,100 calls Sunday, dispatching responders on 850 of them, including 60 water rescues.
• 14:58
  Cedric: Ten schools in the Riverside High attendance area stay closed for the first three days of the school year starting today, with buildings open as resource sites and three-day food boxes available.
• 15:09
  Cedric: In Harrison County, damage assessments are underway and highway crews are repairing flood-damaged roads.
• 15:17
  Cedric: Wyoming: The Weiser Knoll Fire southeast of Lander reached full containment and all area closures were lifted Tuesday.
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  Cedric: The fire, which started August 9 from a mechanical failure on a towed trailer, burned about 15,817 acres and was the state's largest of 2026.
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  Cedric: Cause remains under investigation.
• 15:38
  Cedric: All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 15:44
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 15:46
  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.
• 15:53
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• 15:59
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 16:02
  Cedric: Stay Safe.