Latest / EM Morning Brief / Ohio flash flooding brings water rescues; wildfire preparedness holds at Level 5 with 75 uncontained large fires

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Ohio flash flooding brings water rescues; wildfire preparedness holds at Level 5 with 75 uncontained large fires · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I’m Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Thursday, August 20, 2026, Get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.
• 0:10
  Cedric: Link is in the show notes below or search EM Morning Brief.
• 0:14
  Cedric: The national wildfire picture stays at Preparedness Level 5, the highest tier.
• 0:19
  Cedric: The National Interagency Fire Center’s Wednesday situation report counts 75 uncontained large fires across 133 active incidents, with 26,890 personnel committed and 22 complex incident management teams assigned.
• 0:33
  Cedric: Year to date, 49,418 fires have burned 7,471,468 acres, which is 171 percent of the ten year average for acres.
• 0:45
  Cedric: International crews from Australia and New Zealand remain assigned to the Northwest and Great Basin.
• 0:51
  Cedric: Flash flooding is the active life safety threat this morning across the Ohio Valley.
• 0:56
  Cedric: The National Weather Service has flash flood warnings up in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, with two to four and a half inches of rain already down in central Ohio and water rescues reported in Pataskala.
• 1:10
  Cedric: Later today the risk shifts east, with flood watches taking effect at midday from Philadelphia through northern New Jersey to New York City, where localized totals of three to five inches are possible.
• 1:22
  Cedric: Twelve Extreme Heat Warnings and 46 Heat Advisories are in force across the Southwest, Texas and the Southeast.
• 1:30
  Cedric: The Storm Prediction Center carries a slight risk of severe storms for the Mid Atlantic and from Nebraska into northwest Wisconsin, where hail larger than two inches is possible.
• 1:41
  Cedric: In the Pacific, Hurricane Lala is a Category 2 storm with 105 mile per hour winds moving north northwest well northwest of the main Hawaiian islands, with a Hurricane Warning for part of Papahanaumokuakea.
• 1:54
  Cedric: A second system east southeast of Hawaii carries a 90 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression, and forecasters are telling Hawaii interests to monitor it.
• 2:05
  Cedric: In the Marianas, Tropical Storm Saudel has prompted a Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian.
• 2:11
  Cedric: On cyber, CISA and four partner agencies published an advisory warning that threat actors are actively targeting internet exposed Siemens programmable logic controllers, and CISA added a new MLflow vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
• 2:27
  Cedric: On public health, CDC and FDA updated the Salmonella outbreak tied to jalapenos to 431 illnesses and 57 hospitalizations across 32 states.
• 2:38
  Cedric: Let’s run through the states.
• 2:40
  Cedric: Alaska: The Mukluk Fire near Tok has burned 5,077 acres at 16 percent containment with 30 structures lost and 167 personnel assigned.
• 2:51
  Cedric: State forestry reduced the size of the Level 3 “Go” zone Wednesday and added Level 2 “Set” zones covering Sundog, Willow West and Tok City.
• 3:00
  Cedric: Fire activity picked up on the northwest flank.
• 3:03
  Cedric: FEMA authorized a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the incident, the first in Alaska this year, covering threats to the Tok power plant, the airport and the Alaska Highway.
• 3:14
  Cedric: A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck the Rat Islands early Thursday, with no damage reported.
• 3:20
  Cedric: Arizona: The Weather Service in Phoenix issued four new Extreme Heat Warnings early Thursday morning that run through Sunday evening, and Tucson issued warnings overnight through Friday.
• 3:32
  Cedric: Lower desert highs are forecast between 109 and 113.
• 3:36
  Cedric: Cooling centers are open valley wide.
• 3:39
  Cedric: The Weather Prediction Center carries a marginal risk of excessive rainfall for the Mogollon Rim, with monsoon storms capable of flash flooding over burn scars.
• 3:49
  Cedric: California: The MP18 Fire near Hoopa in Humboldt County stands at 7,147 acres and 26 percent containment with more than 2,000 personnel assigned, the only uncontained large fire in Northern California.
• 4:04
  Cedric: On the Big Sur coast, the Timber Fire is at 5,269 acres and 24 percent, and Monterey County reduced some evacuation orders to warnings Wednesday and modified the northern Highway 1 closure again as utilities and access are restored.
• 4:20
  Cedric: Colorado: The Elk Fire in Hinsdale County has burned 7,281 acres at 35 percent containment with evacuations, area and road closures in effect northwest of Lake City.
• 4:33
  Cedric: The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests put Stage 1 fire restrictions into effect just after midnight this morning.
• 4:41
  Cedric: The state emergency operations center remains at response level two.
• 4:45
  Cedric: Hawaii: Recovery from Lala dominates the state.
• 4:48
  Cedric: Hawaiian Electric reported roughly 17,600 customers still without power Wednesday evening, with about 14,400 of those on Hawaii Island in Puna, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, Hilo and Kau.
• 5:02
  Cedric: The utility lifted its Oahu conservation appeal and is targeting 95 percent restoration on Hawaii Island by Friday, but says some pockets in Puna, Kohala and southern Kau could wait at least two weeks.
• 5:14
  Cedric: The county water department issued a new precautionary boil water notice for Waiohinu and Naalehu after switching a well to generator power, and a countywide essential use only water notice remains with potable water tankers staged.
• 5:28
  Cedric: Police recovered a second body believed to be storm related near Naalehu.
• 5:33
  Cedric: The federal government released six million dollars in emergency transportation relief funds.
• 5:39
  Cedric: Indiana: The state homeland security department’s Wednesday situation report puts the death toll from the August 11 storm system at seven, with an eighth under investigation.
• 5:51
  Cedric: Thirteen shelters remain open housing 262 people, 19 counties hold local disaster declarations, and the state emergency operations center stays at level three.
• 6:02
  Cedric: NIPSCO still shows roughly 67,000 customers out in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties on day nine, with full restoration promised by late Monday.
• 6:12
  Cedric: A flash flood warning covered Hendricks, Morgan and Putnam counties early Thursday, and 18 river flood warnings are active on the Wabash and White rivers.
• 6:22
  Cedric: Kentucky: The Weather Service in Paducah issued flash flood warnings early Thursday for Marshall and McCracken counties, including Paducah and Benton, after two to three inches of rain.
• 6:34
  Cedric: Flood watches cover western Kentucky and 17 counties in the Louisville forecast area, with training thunderstorms producing rates of one to three inches an hour.
• 6:45
  Cedric: Louisiana: The Disaster Recovery Center at the Pointe Coupee Parish Library in Innis closes permanently today at 5 p.m.
• 6:52
  Cedric: The Terrebonne Parish center in Houma remains open.
• 6:55
  Cedric: The deadline to apply for individual assistance from Tropical Storm Arthur is October 1 for Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St.
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  Cedric: Landry, St.
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  Cedric: Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
• 7:07
  Cedric: A heat advisory covered southeast Louisiana Wednesday with heat index values near 112.
• 7:13
  Cedric: Montana: The Sand Creek Fire east of Wisdom in Beaverhead County has burned 31,667 acres at 2 percent containment with 563 personnel.
• 7:23
  Cedric: Evacuations, area, road and trail closures are in effect, and numerous structures and communication sites are threatened.
• 7:31
  Cedric: The Northern Rockies reported four new large incidents and 13 uncontained large fires.
• 7:37
  Cedric: Nevada: The Shoshone Fire northeast of Fallon in Churchill County grew 5,634 acres in a single operational period to 13,634 acres with zero containment, the largest single day growth in the Great Basin.
• 7:52
  Cedric: Road closures are in place but no evacuations are reported.
• 7:56
  Cedric: Daytime cooling stations opened by Clark County and its cities remain operating through Friday in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Laughlin and Mesquite, with several pet friendly and one location open around the clock.
• 8:11
  Cedric: New Jersey: Flood watches take effect at midday for most of the state, including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties in the north and much of the south, with localized amounts of three to five inches possible.
• 8:25
  Cedric: New Mexico: The Frijoles Fire on the Santa Fe National Forest near Cundiyo remains the only uncontained large fire in the Southwest.
• 8:33
  Cedric: Sources conflict on containment: the national situation report lists 12,887 acres at 13 percent, while the incident’s own Wednesday evening update lists 13,120 acres at 31 percent.
• 8:47
  Cedric: Evacuations and closures are in effect, with active crowning and short range spotting reported.
• 8:54
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 8:59
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 9:03
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 9:06
  Cedric: New York: New York City Emergency Management issued a weather alert Wednesday and activated the city’s Flash Flood Emergency Plan ahead of today’s storms, with the heaviest rain expected between five and eight in the evening during the commute.
• 9:21
  Cedric: Environmental Protection and Transportation crews are clearing catch basins in flood prone areas, and the agency issued specific guidance for basement apartment residents.
• 9:31
  Cedric: Separately, the city confirmed that a communications router failure at the Bronx 911 call center on Tuesday morning affected roughly 1,700 of 5,659 incoming calls over about seven hours, and that up to 400 callers may not have connected with
• 9:48
  Cedric: a call taker.
• 9:50
  Cedric: The center is running normally and the city is investigating.
• 9:54
  Cedric: Ohio: Ohio has the most active flooding in the country this morning.
• 9:59
  Cedric: The Weather Service has issued five flash flood warnings since overnight across central, western and eastern Ohio, with warning text citing life threatening flash flooding and broadcast media reporting water rescues in Pataskala.
• 10:13
  Cedric: Between two and four and a half inches of rain has fallen in the hardest hit areas at rates of one to two inches an hour.
• 10:20
  Cedric: Thirteen river flood warnings are active, including the Scioto at Columbus, the South Fork Licking near Buckeye Lake, and the Great Miami at Sidney, where minor flooding is occurring.
• 10:33
  Cedric: Perry and Muskingum counties, both under warnings this morning, are the same counties covered by the state’s August 11 emergency declaration.
• 10:42
  Cedric: Oregon: The Paradise Fire on the Umatilla National Forest jumped to more than 6,000 acres with zero containment, and Umatilla County issued a new Level 3 “Go Now” order Wednesday for the Mill Creek Watershed east of Mill Creek Road
• 10:56
  Cedric: north to the Washington state line.
• 10:59
  Cedric: The Wrights Spring Fire in Klamath County is at 54,016 acres and 55 percent containment with evacuations and road closures in effect.
• 11:10
  Cedric: On the Hagen Fire, Highway 204 through Tollgate reopened between Elgin and Weston Wednesday afternoon with a warning it could close again without notice.
• 11:20
  Cedric: The Rowe Creek Complex is 89 percent contained, but the Crook County Sheriff issued a new Level 3 order Wednesday after a falling snag pushed fire across the line near Mill Creek.
• 11:32
  Cedric: Pennsylvania: Flood watches take effect at midday for Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks counties, with rainfall rates up to three inches an hour.
• 11:43
  Cedric: A separate watch covers Greene and Washington counties in the southwest.
• 11:47
  Cedric: Tennessee: The Weather Service in Nashville issued a flash flood warning early Thursday for Hickman, Humphreys and Perry counties, including Centerville and Hurricane Mills, with one to two inches already down and rates of two to three inches an hour
• 12:01
  Cedric: expected.
• 12:03
  Cedric: Texas: Extreme Heat Warnings issued overnight cover the Dallas Fort Worth area, south central Oklahoma border counties and east Texas.
• 12:12
  Cedric: ERCOT forecasts peak demand will exceed the all time record of 91,089 megawatts every day from today through Tuesday, though the grid operator has issued no energy emergency alert and no conservation appeal.
• 12:26
  Cedric: The Texas Cyber Command confirmed Wednesday that the University of Texas at San Antonio was the victim of a data breach, not just an attempted intrusion.
• 12:35
  Cedric: The university took systems offline, disrupting registration, payments, phone systems and library services for roughly 42,000 students, and pushed the start of fall classes from Wednesday to Monday.
• 12:49
  Cedric: Washington: Washington carries the heaviest fire commitment in the country.
• 12:54
  Cedric: The Little Giant Fire in Chelan County stands at 137,294 acres and 10 percent containment with 26 structures destroyed and more than 2,000 personnel assigned, the largest single fire staffing in the nation.
• 13:09
  Cedric: Level 3 “Go Now” zones remain in effect near Lake Wenatchee and the north shore of Lake Chelan.
• 13:16
  Cedric: The Sinlahekin Fire in Okanogan County is at 154,178 acres and 44 percent containment with 35 structures destroyed, and crews worked slopovers overnight while the county reduced one evacuation zone north of Upper Conconully Lake to Level 2.
• 13:33
  Cedric: The Three Queens Fire east of Snoqualmie Pass is at 3,726 acres and 2 percent containment with Level 3 orders for the Kachess and Cooper Lake areas.
• 13:44
  Cedric: The statewide wildfire emergency and burn ban run through September 30.
• 13:49
  Cedric: West Virginia: Flood watches cover 13 counties in the north and northern panhandle through early afternoon.
• 13:56
  Cedric: The statewide state of emergency Governor Morrisey declared Tuesday for storms, flash flooding, mudslides and water rescues remains in effect for all 55 counties.
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  Cedric: All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 14:12
  Cedric: Let’s check in on the territories.
• 14:14
  Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands: The Weather Service in Tiyan issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian, citing a westward shift in the track of Tropical Storm Saudel that brings damaging winds closer to both islands.
• 14:28
  Cedric: A Typhoon Watch remains up for Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan.
• 14:33
  Cedric: Saudel was about 380 miles east southeast of Saipan with 40 mile per hour winds, moving northwest at 7 miles per hour, and forecasters say it could become a typhoon Friday night and pass through the far northern islands as
• 14:46
  Cedric: an intensifying Category 3.
• 14:48
  Cedric: The Coast Guard Captain of the Port set Port Condition X-Ray for Saipan and Tinian effective at noon local time today.
• 14:55
  Cedric: The Weather Service office is running expanded 24 hour shifts.
• 15:01
  Cedric: Guam: Emergency repairs at the Piti 8 baseload plant Tuesday night dropped generation below demand and forced the power authority into rotating load shedding.
• 15:12
  Cedric: The outages drained the battery backup at the Office of Technology, causing a government wide internet outage.
• 15:18
  Cedric: The governor’s office says the vast majority of affected agencies were restored by midmorning Wednesday and that there is no connection to hacking or malware.
• 15:28
  Cedric: Guam is not under any watch or warning for Saudel.
• 15:32
  Cedric: Puerto Rico and the U.S.
• 15:33
  Cedric: Virgin Islands: Heat Advisories are active in both territories as part of the broader national heat pattern.
• 15:41
  Cedric: All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 15:47
  Cedric: That wraps today’s EM Morning Brief.
• 15:50
  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.
• 15:57
  Cedric: Subscribe on the Emergency Management Network on Substack, or follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 16:03
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 16:06
  Cedric: Stay Safe.