Latest / EM Morning Brief / Texas Hill Country flooding triggers 59-county disaster declaration; record heat shatters all-time marks across the West; Kilauea raised to WATCH ahead of episode 51

Transcript

Texas Hill Country flooding triggers 59-county disaster declaration; record heat shatters all-time marks across the West; Kilauea raised to WATCH ahead of episode 51 · EM Morning Brief

• 0:30
  Good morning.
• 0:30
  I'm Cedric and This is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, July 15, 2026 and today's episode is sponsored by the NIMS store.
• 0:39
  South Central Texas faces a continuing life threatening flash flood situation.
• 0:45
  Governor Greg Abbott issues a disaster declaration for 59 counties as storms drop up to a foot of rain on parts of the Hill country, forcing dozens of high water rescues and closing portions of a busy highway near Uvalde
• 0:58
  for hours.
• 0:59
  Areas near the Guadalupe river record more than 3 inches of rain in 24 hours and forecasters warn that considerable flooding impacts could continue into Thursday.
• 1:11
  The national preparedness level holds at 4, with firefighters working 46 uncontained large fires across 13 states and more than 700,000 acres burning nationwide.
• 1:22
  Official NIFC update published roughly 36 hours ago.
• 1:27
  The same time a record breaking heat wave peaks across the west and Northern plains, Billings hits 111 degrees and Miles City reaches 115, both all time records, while Salt Lake City posts its hottest reading in more than 150
• 1:42
  years at 109.
• 1:44
  Heat alerts stretch from the Northern Plains to New England.
• 1:48
  On the cyber and health front, CISA adds four vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, including two SonicWall SMA1000 appliance flaws and a Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services Access Control Weakness CDC issues a Health Alert Network advisory on
• 2:06
  domestically acquired cyclosporiasis with 1,645 lab confirmed cases across 34 states since May 1 and about 9% of patients hospitalized in Hawaii.
• 2:18
  USGS raises Kilauea's alert level from advisory to watch as ahead of an expected new lava fountaining episode.
• 2:25
  The National Hurricane center expects no Atlantic tropical development over the next seven days.
• 2:31
  Let's run through the Alaska nine large fires burn about 8,100 acres across the interior, the most of any state, including the Hogatsa, Ixtilitna and Shaw fires.
• 2:44
  The listed incidents are burning in remote areas well away from communities with state and blm.
• 2:49
  Alaska Fire Service crews engaged Arkansas A precautionary boil water notice remains in effect for about 1,135 Maumell Water Corp.
• 2:59
  Customers in Rowland after a water main break causes a loss of pressure.
• 3:04
  The Arkansas Department of Health confirms contaminated water may have entered the distribution system.
• 3:10
  California the Elephant Fire on the Tahoe National Forest near Loyalton stands at 6436 acres and 5% containment and the Summit Fire in Los Angeles county reaches 2,690 acres at 31% in Nevada County.
• 3:27
  All remaining evacuation orders and warnings tied to the Kearney Fire lift by Tuesday evening, allowing residents to return home.
• 3:34
  Two MAFS C130 air tankers remain deployed to San Bernardino and Santa Maria to reinforce the aerial firefighting fleet.
• 3:42
  Colorado the Aspen Acres fire southwest of Pueblo approaches 100,000 acres at roughly 36% containment.
• 3:51
  The Huerfano County Sheriff issues a new evacuation notice Tuesday while orders for the Beulah Area lift.
• 3:57
  The Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray holds at about 36,965 acres and 12% containment as a new incident management team takes command and crews work to secure the Highway 550 corridor between Ouray and Ridgeway.
• 4:12
  The Ferris Fire in the San Juan national forest stands at 64,464 acres and 23% after merging with the Doe Canyon fire.
• 4:22
  Hawaii USGS raises Kilauea's volcano alert level to watch and the aviation color code to orange as precursory activity begins ahead of episode 51 of the Halemaumau eruption forecast to start between now and July 16.
• 4:37
  Winds could carry tephra and ash toward Pahala, Nalehu and communities adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
• 4:44
  Idaho Idaho Falls breaks its all time heat record at 103 degrees.
• 4:49
  Five large fires burn statewide, including the Claremont Fire 1 mile northeast of Boise at 6,777 acres and 57% containment.
• 4:59
  Minnesota A rapidly growing wildfire northeast of Ely prompts expanded evacuation orders Tuesday morning, including parts of the Echo Trail and Fernberg corridor.
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  The U.S.
• 5:10
  forest Service closes all Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness entry points effective July 14 after 17 fire starts in and around the wilderness in the past week.
• 5:21
  Governor Tim Walls declares a peacetime emergency and mobilizes the Minnesota National Guard.
• 5:27
  Montana Record heat peaks Tuesday.
• 5:30
  Billings reaches 111 degrees, topping its previous all time record of 108 and Miles City hits 115.
• 5:37
  Hot, dry and breezy conditions elevate fire weather east of the Continental Divide.
• 5:43
  Nebraska governor Jim Pillin issues an emergency declaration for the lightning caused corkscrew road fire in Sioux county southwest of Crawford.
• 5:52
  Evacuation zones cover areas northwest of Crawford and the declaration unlocks the governor's emergency fund for response costs.
• 6:01
  Ohio Storms and a protective substation shutdown leave more than 35,000 FirstEnergy customers without power at the peak on Cleveland's west side and in surrounding Cuyahoga county communities Tuesday.
• 6:14
  Most customers have service restored by late Tuesday night.
• 6:19
  Oregon Six large fires burn about 13,455 acres statewide.
• 6:24
  The E.
• 6:25
  Evans Creek Road fire in the Medford unit stands at 3,152 acres and 5% containment, while the North Cayuse Fire east of Pendleton reaches 91%.
• 6:35
  Pennsylvania PPL Electric reports nearly 260,000 outages statewide since Friday's storms, among the top 10 most impactful in the utility's history.
• 6:46
  Crews restore service to nearly 200,000 customers, but tens of thousands remain out Tuesday and some face multi day waits.
• 6:55
  Mutual Aid crews arrive from Canada, Rhode island and Kentucky, and Restoration prioritizes hospitals and emergency services.
• 7:03
  TEXAS Flash Flood warnings cover parts of the Hill Country Tuesday as heavy rain drives dozens of high water rescues and closes portions of a highway near Uvalde.
• 7:14
  KERRVILLE Police report stranded vehicles and downed trees blocking roads.
• 7:19
  Governor Abbott's disaster declaration covers 59 counties, and forecasters warn considerable flooding impacts could continue into Thursday along the Guadalupe river corridor, where catastrophic flooding killed more than 130 people just over a year ago.
• 7:36
  UTAH Salt Lake City records its hottest temperature in more than 150 years at 109 degrees.
• 7:42
  The Babylon Fire southwest of Monticello stands at 106,610 acres and 50% containment and the Cottonwood Fire east of Beaver reaches 97,373 acres at 77%.
• 7:56
  Wyoming Sheridan breaks its all time heat record at 109 degrees.
• 8:02
  Breezy winds and relative humidity in the 10 to 20% range elevate fire weather over southern Wyoming east of the Continental Divide.
• 8:11
  All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 8:16
  Territories Puerto Rico Severe water shortages continue into a third month for communities across the island, including parts of San Juan, with National Guard tanker trucks circulating water and emergency responders fielding daily calls.
• 8:31
  Officials have not publicly identified the cause of the shortages.
• 8:36
  US VIRGIN ISLANDS WAPA reports its fuel suppliers Transportation delays temporarily limit diesel deliveries for St Thomas and St John, and the authority secures an earlier maritime fuel delivery from Puerto Rico.
• 8:50
  Planned overnight outages from 11pm to 7am continue as crews complete a critical phase of the Feeder 13 bypass project.
• 8:59
  All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours that wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 9:08
  New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5am hour PT, so the day starts with clarity instead of catch up.
• 9:15
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• 9:21
  EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices podcast.
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  Stay safe.