Latest / EM Morning Brief / Hawk Fire holds at 27 percent with 32 homes lost in Reno; Memphis power restoration stretches to Thursday
Transcript
- 0:00Cedric: Good morning, I’m Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
- 0:06Cedric: Get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.
- 0:11Cedric: Link is in the show notes below or search EM Morning Brief.
- 0:15Cedric: The nation remains at Preparedness Level 5.
- 0:18Cedric: The National Interagency Coordination Center counts 86 uncontained large fires, 131 active incidents and 22,085 personnel committed, with 7.8 million acres burned so far this year, or 168 percent of the ten year average.
- 0:35Cedric: Australian and New Zealand incident management teams are supporting the Northwest and Great Basin, and 240 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord are assigned to the Little Giant Fire in Washington.
- 0:48Cedric: The two highest impact fires this morning are the Hawk Fire on the north edge of Reno, Nevada, where 32 homes are destroyed and hundreds remain in shelters, and the new Ross Fire in north central Texas, which grew to
- 1:02Cedric: roughly 50,000 acres overnight and forced a 3:00 a.m.
- 1:06Cedric: mandatory evacuation in southern Jack County.
- 1:10Cedric: Heat is the dominant weather hazard.
- 1:12Cedric: Twenty six Extreme Heat Warnings and 31 Heat Advisories are active across Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
- 1:22Cedric: Virgin Islands, with Phoenix forecast to reach 106 to 116 degrees through Saturday.
- 1:29Cedric: The National Weather Service has Red Flag Warnings up for southwest California from this morning through Friday afternoon, citing extreme heat, instability and the potential for plume dominated fires with rapid spread.
- 1:42Cedric: The Storm Prediction Center carries a Slight risk of severe thunderstorms across the central Plains and upper Mississippi Valley, and the Weather Prediction Center has a Slight risk of excessive rainfall along the I-95 corridor from northeast Florida through the
- 1:57Cedric: Georgia coast.
- 1:59Cedric: There are no tropical watches or warnings anywhere in the United States.
- 2:04Cedric: The remnants of Tropical Depression Moke received a final advisory late Monday night, and Moke is no longer a tropical cyclone.
- 2:12Cedric: On the federal side, CISA added one vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog Monday.
- 2:19Cedric: It affects Oracle HTTP Server and the Oracle WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-in, and federal civilian agencies have until Thursday, August 27 to remediate.
- 2:29Cedric: The Department of Homeland Security has no current National Terrorism Advisory System advisory.
- 2:35Cedric: CDC updated its multistate E.
- 2:37Cedric: coli and Salmonella investigation tied to alfalfa sprouts on Monday, now at 55 cases and four hospitalizations across 15 states.
- 2:46Cedric: And in Hawaii, the U.S.
- 2:48Cedric: Geological Survey says Kilauea summit inflation has now matched the deflation from the last episode, putting the next fountaining episode most likely between today and Friday.
- 2:58Cedric: Let’s run through the states.
- 3:00Cedric: Nevada.
- 3:00Cedric: The Hawk Fire in Washoe County has burned more than 15,000 acres and is 27 percent contained, with most of that on the south end.
- 3:09Cedric: Damage teams count 32 homes destroyed and six damaged, and seven people including three first responders have minor burn injuries.
- 3:18Cedric: U.S.
- 3:18Cedric: 395 has reopened in both directions and residents in Stead are returning home.
- 3:24Cedric: The Red Cross shelter at the Reno Sparks Convention Center housed 243 people overnight, down from more than 400 the first night.
- 3:33Cedric: Washoe County School District canceled classes Tuesday.
- 3:36Cedric: FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant Monday, and the governor’s Washoe County state of emergency remains in effect, along with new bans on campfires and afternoon target shooting.
- 3:49Cedric: Texas.
- 3:50Cedric: The Ross Fire in Palo Pinto County is listed at 50,000 acres and 5 percent contained.
- 3:56Cedric: It started Monday afternoon along U.S.
- 3:58Cedric: 180 west of Palo Pinto, reached five alarms within an hour, and spread overnight into southern Jack County, where a mandatory evacuation order went out just before 3:00 a.m.
- 4:09Cedric: Tuesday near and east of Barton’s Chapel.
- 4:13Cedric: FM 4 is closed and an evacuation center is open at the Twin Lakes Recreation Center in Jacksboro, where schools delayed the start of classes two hours.
- 4:22Cedric: In Hamilton County, the Rio Escondido Fire is 2,500 acres and 30 percent contained with recommended evacuations near Evant and four shelter sites open.
- 4:33Cedric: Texas A&M Forest Service is at Preparedness Level 3.
- 4:37Cedric: Tennessee.
- 4:38Cedric: Memphis Light, Gas and Water reports 24,900 customers still without power as of 7:29 a.m.
- 4:45Cedric: Central Tuesday, three days after Saturday’s storm cut service to nearly 140,000 households.
- 4:52Cedric: Utility leadership calls it the seventh largest storm in the utility’s history and forecasts that the majority of customers will be restored by Thursday evening, with 75 contract crews, 27 utility crews and 250 tree trimmers working.
- 5:08Cedric: Memphis Shelby County Schools is reopening most campuses Tuesday but keeping 18 closed for outages and damage, with all after school activities canceled districtwide.
- 5:18Cedric: A Code Orange ozone alert covers Shelby County through late Tuesday afternoon.
- 5:24Cedric: Washington.
- 5:25Cedric: A new fire is the priority.
- 5:27Cedric: The Hidden Meadows Fire ignited Monday in Clark County north of Battle Ground near Yacolt, drawing Level 3 Go Now orders, a shelter, and a full closure of State Route 503.
- 5:38Cedric: In Kittitas County, the Three Queens Fire is 7,285 acres at 13 percent with Level 3 orders around Kachess and Cooper Lake, and the new Goat Fire tripled overnight to 178 acres with its own Level 3 zone.
- 5:52Cedric: The Colwash Fire near Mabton improved to 48 percent containment and all Yakima and Benton county evacuations dropped to Level 1.
- 6:01Cedric: Air quality alerts cover five counties.
- 6:04Cedric: Oregon.
- 6:05Cedric: Baker County upgraded a Level 2 area to Level 3 Go Now Monday as the McCully Fire north of Sumpter passed 4,015 acres, with the neighboring North Pole Fire at 242 acres and a complex incident management team inbound.
- 6:21Cedric: The Wallowa Whitman National Forest issued an emergency area closure.
- 6:26Cedric: In Clackamas County, Great Basin Team 4 took command of the Austin, Narrows and Mitchell fires Monday morning, with Level 3 orders still in place around the Austin Fire at 5,295 acres and zero containment.
- 6:38Cedric: In Umatilla County, the Hagen and Paradise fires grew only inside planned lines.
- 6:44Cedric: Oregon DEQ has an air quality advisory for Baker and northern Umatilla counties through Wednesday.
- 6:50Cedric: California.
- 6:51Cedric: The Timber Fire southeast of Big Sur has grown to 12,616 acres at 25 percent containment, with evacuation orders on seven Monterey County zones, warnings on eleven more, at least 661 structures threatened and 1,368 personnel assigned.
- 7:09Cedric: In Humboldt County, the MP18 Fire near Hoopa is 91 percent contained, most zones have returned to normal, and Highway 96 is open under one way traffic control.
- 7:19Cedric: The bigger concern is ahead: Red Flag Warnings take effect at 10:00 a.m.
- 7:24Cedric: across the southern California mountains and the I-5 and Highway 14 corridors, running through Friday afternoon.
- 7:32Cedric: Colorado.
- 7:34Cedric: The State Emergency Operations Center remains at Response Level 2 with all community lifelines stable.
- 7:39Cedric: The Aspen Acres Fire in Custer and Pueblo counties stands at 102,004 acres and 77 percent containment, and the governor requested a Major Disaster Declaration for Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain on Sunday.
- 7:53Cedric: The immediate hazard is burn scar flooding.
- 7:56Cedric: The Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning over the Aspen Acres scar Monday evening and has a Flash Flood Watch running from 2:00 p.m.
- 8:04Cedric: Tuesday through the evening.
- 8:06Cedric: Disaster assistance centers remain open in Westcliffe and Pueblo.
- 8:12Cedric: Idaho.
- 8:13Cedric: The Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office expanded evacuations Monday evening.
- 8:17Cedric: Silver City is at Level 2 Set.
- 8:20Cedric: Level 3 Go covers Riddle and the town of Triangle plus a five mile radius.
- 8:25Cedric: The Flint Fire grew from 750 acres to roughly 3,500 acres, with two smaller lightning starts nearby.
- 8:32Cedric: In Twin Falls County, a new lightning caused fire in the South Hills prompted evacuations at Wagon Wheel Springs and Fifth Fork Campground as it crested Deadline Ridge toward summer cabins.
- 8:44Cedric: Hawaii.
- 8:45Cedric: Moke is done.
- 8:46Cedric: The National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on the storm’s remnants at 11:00 p.m.
- 8:51Cedric: Monday and the state deactivated its Joint Information Center at noon Monday.
- 8:57Cedric: Recovery from Hurricane Lala continues, with about 6,460 Hawaiian Electric customers on Hawaii Island still without power and full restoration in the hardest hit Kaū district not expected until September 8.
- 9:11Cedric: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park partially reopened Kilauea summit areas Monday, while the Kahuku Unit stays closed.
- 9:18Cedric: Kilauea remains at Advisory and aviation color code Yellow with episode 54 expected this week.
- 9:25Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
- 9:30Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
- 9:34Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
- 9:37Cedric: Alaska.
- 9:38Cedric: The Mukluk Fire outside Tok is 7,260 acres and 29 percent contained with 328 personnel.
- 9:47Cedric: Rain allowed officials to lift all Level 1 and Level 2 zones, but the Level 3 Go Midnight Sun Zone north of the Alaska Highway remains because of hazard trees while crews work to restore power ahead of repopulation.
- 10:00Cedric: Arizona.
- 10:01Cedric: Extreme Heat Warnings run through Saturday evening, with 106 to 116 degrees forecast in metro Phoenix and 107 to 118 in the Yuma and lower Colorado River area.
- 10:13Cedric: Maricopa County residents are directed to 2-1-1 for cooling centers, transportation and water.
- 10:19Cedric: Overnight, a flood wave moving down the Paria River from Utah triggered a Flash Flood Warning at Lees Ferry in Coconino County.
- 10:27Cedric: Utah.
- 10:29Cedric: Heavy rain over Bryce Canyon National Park drove Flash Flood Warnings in Garfield and Kane counties Monday afternoon, and the Park Service reported mudslides and rockfalls inside the park.
- 10:39Cedric: The resulting flood wave crossed under U.S.
- 10:42Cedric: 89 late Monday night and continued into Arizona.
- 10:45Cedric: A separate warning covered the Babylon burn scar in San Juan County.
- 10:51Cedric: Montana.
- 10:52Cedric: The lightning caused Nature Grove Fire is 175 acres about 13 miles east of Hamilton, with Ravalli County evacuation warnings still in place east of the 1800 block on both sides of the Skalkaho Highway and several forest roads closed.
- 11:07Cedric: A new start, the Falls Point Fire west of Lost Trail Pass, is estimated at 25 to 30 acres with three helicopters assigned.
- 11:17Cedric: New Mexico.
- 11:17Cedric: The Frijoles Fire in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties holds at 15,226 acres and 45 percent containment with 913 personnel.
- 11:26Cedric: Cundiyo, Cerro Piñon and Borrego Mesa remain in Set status, and New Mexico 503 stays closed between County Road 98 and State Road 76.
- 11:37Cedric: Minnesota.
- 11:38Cedric: The July Superior National Forest complex is 76,032 acres and 71 percent contained.
- 11:45Cedric: The Forest Service lifted all campfire restrictions across the entire Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters, on Monday, and two more Echo Trail entry points reopen Tuesday.
- 11:56Cedric: Several wilderness areas remain closed.
- 11:59Cedric: Indiana.
- 12:01Cedric: Northern Indiana Public Service Company reports roughly 3,878 customers still without power two weeks after the August 11 derecho, out of about 374,500 cumulative outages.
- 12:14Cedric: The utility now promises Gary residents restoration by 11:59 p.m.
- 12:18Cedric: Tuesday after extending that deadline once, with ComEd crews coming in from Illinois to help finish.
- 12:24Cedric: Michigan.
- 12:25Cedric: One week remains to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance and Small Business Administration physical damage loans for the April storms, with a deadline of 11:59 p.m.
- 12:35Cedric: Monday, August 31.
- 12:38Cedric: More than 5,000 applicants are approved and just over 28 million dollars has been obligated across the 27 declared counties.
- 12:47Cedric: Wisconsin.
- 12:48Cedric: Survivors of the April 13 to 23 storms and flooding also have until Monday, August 31 to apply for FEMA assistance or a Small Business Administration home disaster loan.
- 13:00Cedric: The declaration covers 19 counties plus the Oneida Nation, and business physical loan applications close the same day.
- 13:08Cedric: New York.
- 13:10Cedric: City officials say a Motorola software update pushed early on August 18 caused the Bronx 911 failure in which roughly 1,700 of more than 5,000 calls to the Bronx call center went silent between about 3:00 and 10:00 a.m.
- 13:26Cedric: Officials say most callers were able to call back and connect.
- 13:30Cedric: Vermont.
- 13:32Cedric: Brattleboro issued a precautionary boil water notice Monday after main breaks on Green Street and Pine Street, covering about 30 streets and neighborhoods.
- 13:41Cedric: Sample results are expected Tuesday afternoon.
- 13:45Cedric: Virginia.
- 13:46Cedric: A boil water notice took effect Monday for parts of Washington County in the Mendota area after line maintenance required localized system depressurization.
- 13:56Cedric: Arkansas.
- 13:57Cedric: The Arkansas Department of Health placed Okolona Waterworks under a systemwide boil order at 11:17 a.m.
- 14:03Cedric: Monday after a pump malfunction.
- 14:06Cedric: Iowa.
- 14:06Cedric: Winthrop is under a boil advisory after a water main break dropped system pressure Monday morning, and the East Buchanan school district canceled its first day of classes.
- 14:17Cedric: Missouri.
- 14:18Cedric: Portions of Mountain View are under a boil water advisory as of Monday afternoon after a contractor struck a water line.
- 14:26Cedric: Mississippi.
- 14:28Cedric: The state health department issued a boil water alert Monday for Progress Community Water in Lamar County and rescinded alerts for the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and the City of Richland.
- 14:40Cedric: All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
- 14:45Cedric: Territories Puerto Rico.
- 14:47Cedric: A Heat Advisory issued early Tuesday covers the entire island plus Culebra and Vieques through 5:00 p.m.
- 14:53Cedric: Atlantic time.
- 14:54Cedric: No load shed or generation emergency is reported.
- 14:58Cedric: U.S.
- 14:59Cedric: Virgin Islands.
- 15:01Cedric: VITEMA reports St.
- 15:02Cedric: Croix is producing about 2.5 million gallons of potable water per day against demand of 3 to 3.2 million gallons while the territory remains under a Level 3 drought emergency, and warns Saharan dust will reach moderate to high concentrations
- 15:16Cedric: at midweek.
- 15:18Cedric: A Heat Advisory also covers all three islands Tuesday.
- 15:22Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands.
- 15:24Cedric: Rota has opened applications for the Temporary Roofing Program for Super Typhoon Bavi damage, with intake at the island’s Survivor Recovery Center Monday through Saturday.
- 15:35Cedric: Officials say applying does not affect a resident’s Individual Assistance eligibility.
- 15:40Cedric: All other territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
- 15:45Cedric: That wraps today’s EM Morning Brief.
- 15:48Cedric: New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T., so the day starts with clarity instead of catch-up.
- 15:55Cedric: Subscribe on the Emergency Management Network on Substack, or follow on your favorite podcast player.
- 16:01Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
- 16:04Cedric: Stay Safe.