Latest / EM Morning Brief / Boundary Waters fully closes as 46 large fires burn nationwide; extreme heat grips the Plains and the I-95 corridor; Texas activates flood resources as Kerr County is warned again

Transcript

Boundary Waters fully closes as 46 large fires burn nationwide; extreme heat grips the Plains and the I-95 corridor; Texas activates flood resources as Kerr County is warned again · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Good morning.
• 0:00
  I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Tuesday, July 14, 2026 and today's episode is sponsored by the NIMS store.
• 0:09
  The nation remains at preparedness level four.
• 0:12
  NIFC's Monday report lists 46 uncontained large fires, more than 700,000 acres burning and more than 16,800 personnel assigned with 105 new fires and six new large fires reported in a single day.
• 0:27
  Official update published 24 hours ago the Babylon Fire in southeastern Utah is the largest fire in the country at more than 106,000 acres and 50% containment.
• 0:39
  In Minnesota, the Forest Service closes the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness effective this morning, only the third full closure in its history.
• 0:50
  A major heat event spans much of the country.
• 0:54
  The national weather Service posts 26 extreme heat warnings from the desert Southwest across the Northern Plains and upper Midwest and heat advisories return to the Interstate 95 corridor today with heat indices near or above 100 from Washington to
• 1:09
  Boston.
• 1:10
  PJM Interconnection issues a hot weather alert for its entire 13 state footprint covering July 14 through 17.
• 1:18
  In Texas, Governor Abbott activates Swiftwater rescue squads, urban search and rescue teams and Texas National Guard helicopters ahead of a multi day flash flood threat and overnight flash flood warnings include Kerr County.
• 1:33
  On the cyber front, CISA and partners publish a joint advisory on Russian state sponsored actors exploiting poorly configured network routers across critical infrastructure sectors And CISA adds one Cisco iOS vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with a
• 1:50
  July 16 remediation date for federal agencies.
• 1:54
  The National Terrorism Advisory System shows no current advisories.
• 1:58
  The National Hurricane center expects no tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic over the next seven days and a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in California's northern Mojave Desert causes no reported damage.
• 2:12
  FEMA reports no new major disaster declarations in the last 24 hours.
• 2:17
  Let's run through the states.
• 2:19
  Arizona the pocket fire north of Sedona reaches 76% containment at 27,393 acres.
• 2:26
  State Route 89A reopens between Sedona and Interstate 17 after more than three weeks of closure and Oak Creek Canyon.
• 2:34
  Seven Canyons and Enchantment move from set to ready status.
• 2:38
  Fire managers watch for flash flooding on the burn scar as monsoon moisture arrives.
• 2:44
  California the Elephant Fire burns on the Tahoe National Forest northeast of Loyalton at 5% containment.
• 2:50
  NEFC's Monday report lists the fire at 6,436 acres, while Monday afternoon local reporting places it above 12,000 acres.
• 2:59
  Official mapping lags the fire's rapid growth.
• 3:03
  Lassen county keeps an evacuation order in place for zone LAS451A and an evacuation warning for zone LAS671B.
• 3:12
  In Los Angeles county, the Summit Fire near Llano holds at roughly 2,700 acres and 39% containment with evacuation orders still in place including a portion of the Angeles national forest.
• 3:26
  A magnitude 4.3 earthquake strikes the northern Mojave Desert near Johannesburg on Monday morning.
• 3:32
  More than thousand people report shaking and no damage is reported.
• 3:37
  Colorado the Aspen Acres Fire in Custer, Pueblo and Huerfano counties stands near 98,000 acres and roughly 35% containment.
• 3:46
  The fire has destroyed more than 850 structures including at least 337 homes.
• 3:52
  Phased re entry begins for some Beulah residents.
• 3:55
  Fremont county zones downgrade to awareness status and new pre evacuation notices go out in additional Huerfano county areas.
• 4:04
  Mandatory evacuations remain for portions of Custer, Pueblo and Huerfano counties.
• 4:09
  Elsewhere, the Ferris Fire in Dolores and Montezuma counties reaches 64,464 acres at 23% containment and the Gold Mountain Fire north of array stands at 35,622 acres and 13%.
• 4:23
  Idaho the Clermont Fire in the Boise foothills reaches 6,805 acres and 57% containment with full containment now expected August 1st and a BLM closure in the Ridge to Rivers Trail area.
• 4:37
  A new large fire, the Cow Canyon Fire on the BLM Idaho falls district reaches 2000 acres with no containment.
• 4:45
  In Clearwater county, the Greer grade on Highway 11 reopens to single lane traffic while crews work the 353 acre Greer Fire.
• 4:54
  Louisiana A precautionary boil water advisory is in effect for parts of Hammond and Tangipahoa parish after a 6 inch water main cracked near Gordon Jones Drive and Durbin Road.
• 5:06
  Massachusetts Boston issues a heat advisory for Tuesday and Wednesday with heat indices of 95 to 103 degrees.
• 5:14
  Community centers and library branches open as cooling sites and public health shelters operate as around the clock cooling space.
• 5:23
  Heat advisories cover much of central and northern Michigan with highs near 100 in spots.
• 5:29
  Cooling centers open in Bay and Midland counties.
• 5:32
  Officials run welfare checks on homebound seniors and residents can dial 211 for locations.
• 5:39
  Minnesota the Forest Service closes the entire Boundary Waters Canoe area wilderness effective 12:01am today as 16 wildfires burn nearly 9,000 acres in the Arrowhead.
• 5:51
  Roughly 1900 campsites fall inside the closure and Forest Service staff travel in by canoe to notify campers.
• 5:59
  The Thumb Fire is the largest at 6,500 acres and parts of St.
• 6:04
  Louis and Cook counties sit in ready and set evacuation statuses.
• 6:09
  Governor Walls Peacetime emergency and National Guard mobilization for wildfire suppression remain in effect.
• 6:16
  Official update published 40 hours ago.
• 6:20
  An extreme heat warning covers northern Minnesota through this evening with heat indices near 100 in Duluth and cooling sites are open across the Twin Cities.
• 6:31
  Black river flood operations shift from rescue to recovery and damage assessment.
• 6:36
  The state Emergency Operations center remains activated at level three and SEMA urges residents to document all damage before cleanup and repairs as counties work toward a possible federal assistance request.
• 6:49
  Nevada BLM Stage 1 fire restrictions take effect across western Nevada.
• 6:54
  A new large fire, the 18 mile fire on the BLM Elko district reaches 300 acres with no containment.
• 7:02
  NEW Mexico the Willow Creek subdivision near the Sacaton fire in Caitron county moves back to ready status and NMDOT reopens Bursum Road on NM159.
• 7:12
  New York New York City activates its heat emergency plan.
• 7:16
  A heat advisory runs from noon today through 9pm Wednesday with heat indices up to 104 degrees.
• 7:23
  Hundreds of cooling centers open, 21 cooling vans deploy.
• 7:26
  Homeless street outreach expands on advisory days and roughly 50 outdoor pools stay open late.
• 7:33
  Albany county is also under a heat advisory today.
• 7:36
  North Carolina Flash flooding hits eastern Allegheny and northwestern Surrey counties Monday with 6 to 10 inches of rain and flooded roads reported in Mountain Park.
• 7:47
  A coastal flood advisory brings minor flooding to downtown Wilmington Monday evening.
• 7:52
  No evacuation orders are reported.
• 7:55
  North Dakota an extreme heat warning covers the state with heat index values up to 110 in the Fargo area today.
• 8:03
  Oregon the East Evans Creek Road fire in Jackson county reaches 3,628 acres at 5% containment with more than 1,000 personnel assigned.
• 8:13
  A Level 3 Go now order remains for Zone JAT 148A west of Shady Cove with a shelter open at Hanby Middle School in Gold Hill.
• 8:22
  In Grant and Baker counties, Level 3 orders remain for the towns of Granite and Greenhorn as crews work the Olive Butte fire under the state's Emergency Conflagration Act.
• 8:34
  South Dakota Western South Dakota sits under a heat advisory through Thursday evening with critical fire danger possible through Wednesday.
• 8:43
  Tennessee Greene county residents and businesses with structural damage from the 7-11-13 flooding must report it to the county ema by Thursday, July 16, as Tema compiles preliminary damage assessments.
• 8:58
  A Red Cross shelter remains open at Chucky Doak Middle School in Afton.
• 9:02
  Official update published 40 hours ago.
• 9:07
  Governor Abbott activates state emergency response resources ahead of a multi day flash flood threat, including Swiftwater rescue boat squads, urban search and rescue teams.
• 9:17
  Texas National Guard helicopters and additional state troopers.
• 9:21
  Flash flood warnings cover parts of west and central Texas Monday, and an overnight warning carrying a considerable damage tag covers central Kerr county and northwest Bandera county, the same corridor hit by the July 2025 Guadalupe river disaster.
• 9:38
  Rounds of heavy rain continue through the end of the week.
• 9:42
  Utah the Babylon Fire, southwest of Monticello, the largest active fire in the country, crosses 106,000 acres and reaches 50% containment.
• 9:53
  Multiple zones remain in set status and closures cover the entire Monticello Ranger District and the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
• 10:01
  The Cottonwood Fire east of beaver stands at 97,373 acres and 77% containment, and Burnscar communities fill sandbags ahead of post fire monsoon flooding.
• 10:14
  Wisconsin A heat advisory covers southeastern Wisconsin from noon today through Wednesday evening, with heat indices up to one or two, including the Milwaukee metro.
• 10:24
  Northern Wisconsin sits inside the broader extreme heat warning footprint.
• 10:29
  All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 10:33
  Let's run through the territories.
• 10:35
  Guam Typhoon Baby Recovery continues official update published 28 hours ago.
• 10:42
  Guam Power Authority restores 89% of system load with 66 of 67 feeders energized.
• 10:49
  About 1900 of more than 43,000 water customer accounts remain without service.
• 10:55
  The precautionary boil water notice remains in effect for customers who lost water service for 48 hours or more.
• 11:02
  An island Wide Water Conservation Order stays in Place and 11 water tankers are staged across the island.
• 11:09
  All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 11:16
  That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 11:19
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• 11:26
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• 11:31
  EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices podcast.
• 11:34
  Stay safe.