Latest / EM Morning Brief / EMN Morning Brief: September 9, 2026 - DescriptKauai grid down for 33,000 after Lowell; CISA adds four exploited flaws; Des Moines flash flooding and Big Sur fire gains

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EMN Morning Brief: September 9, 2026 - DescriptKauai grid down for 33,000 after Lowell; CISA adds four exploited flaws; Des Moines flash flooding and Big Sur fire gains · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I’m Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: Hawaii dominates the national picture.
• 0:09
  Cedric: Lowell weakened to a tropical storm overnight and is moving away from the islands, but Kauai County and Oahu sustained severe damage, and roughly 33,000 Kauai Island Utility Cooperative members, about 90 percent of the membership, remain without power.
• 0:26
  Cedric: Crews are inspecting about 1,500 miles of line and warn some outages could last several days or longer.
• 0:32
  Cedric: The state emergency management agency is urging residents to limit travel, treat every downed line as live, and inspect damaged property before reentry.
• 0:43
  Cedric: Separately, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory holds Kilauea at Orange, Watch, with a forecast window of September 8 through 10 for the start of eruption episode 55.
• 0:53
  Cedric: The wildfire picture stays busy at National Preparedness Level 4.
• 0:58
  Cedric: The federal situation report counts 64 uncontained large fires and 15,025 personnel assigned, with 15 complex incident management teams committed.
• 1:09
  Cedric: Two 15 member teams and 212 fireline personnel from Australia and New Zealand are supporting the Northwest and Great Basin, and five MAFFS equipped C 130 airtankers are staged in California.
• 1:22
  Cedric: Year to date, more than 53,600 fires have burned in excess of 8.3 million acres.
• 1:29
  Cedric: On the cyber and heat fronts: CISA added four vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, covering Adobe Commerce and Magento, two Microsoft Windows flaws, and N able N central, all with active exploitation and federal remediation deadlines.
• 1:45
  Cedric: Extreme Heat Warnings cover Southern California, metro Phoenix, Yuma, the Las Vegas Valley, and eastern Oklahoma into western Arkansas.
• 1:54
  Cedric: Red flag warnings are up across Wyoming and fire weather watches across Montana and North Dakota.
• 2:00
  Cedric: The Department of Homeland Security has no active National Terrorism Advisory System advisories, and the National Hurricane Center reports no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific.
• 2:13
  Cedric: Let’s run through the states.
• 2:15
  Cedric: Alaska: The National Weather Service in Fairbanks issued High Wind Warnings early this morning for the Bering Strait Coast, Shishmaref, Diomede, St.
• 2:24
  Cedric: Lawrence Island, and the Western Arctic Coast, with southwest winds of 30 to 45 miles per hour and gusts to 65.
• 2:32
  Cedric: Forecasters cite power outages and difficult travel.
• 2:36
  Cedric: High Surf Advisories run through Friday night for a long stretch of western coastline, with water levels two to four feet above the normal high tide line and localized beach erosion.
• 2:47
  Cedric: A hydrologic outlook from Anchorage warns that high water on the Kuskokwim combined with strong southerly winds could push bankfull or minor flooding from Bethel south to Napakiak.
• 2:59
  Cedric: Arizona: Extreme Heat Warnings took effect this morning across the Phoenix metropolitan zones through Thursday evening, and through Friday evening for Yuma, the Parker and Palo Verde valleys, and central La Paz County.
• 3:12
  Cedric: The warning area also includes Lake Havasu, Fort Mohave, and the Arizona sides of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave.
• 3:19
  Cedric: No county heat relief activation has been posted in the window.
• 3:23
  Cedric: California: On the Los Padres National Forest, the Plaskett Fire southwest of Big Sur is at 29,862 acres and 61 percent contained, a significant gain, with 1,879 personnel assigned.
• 3:38
  Cedric: The Timber Fire southeast of Big Sur holds at 25,380 acres and 27 percent, with residences and communication infrastructure threatened.
• 3:46
  Cedric: State Route 1 remains closed for roughly nine miles north of the San Luis Obispo county line at Kirk Creek.
• 3:53
  Cedric: In Orange County, Los Angeles County Fire and La Habra police responded late yesterday morning to an orange smoke plume at an industrial chemical plant in the 500 block of South Cypress Street.
• 4:05
  Cedric: Hazardous materials teams verified control of the leak, the plume dissipated, air monitoring continues, and the city reports no active risk to residents.
• 4:15
  Cedric: Extreme Heat Warnings cover Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial counties, and coastal flood advisories were issued for the Bay Area, Monterey Bay, and the Big Sur coast.
• 4:29
  Cedric: Connecticut: The governor opened the application period for 52.9 million dollars in federal agricultural disaster relief covering 2023 and 2024 weather losses.
• 4:40
  Cedric: Round one closes October 7.
• 4:43
  Cedric: Florida: Miami International Airport evacuated gates D30 through D41, the Concourse D Skytrain, and a security checkpoint yesterday morning over a suspicious item.
• 4:55
  Cedric: An all clear came about 10:40 a.m.
• 4:57
  Cedric: and the areas reopened.
• 4:59
  Cedric: The Streamsong Fire in Polk County reached 100 percent containment at 300 acres.
• 5:05
  Cedric: Hawaii: Beyond the power outages, the Kauai Department of Water issued an islandwide conservation notice because outages disabled municipal pumps and wells, and asked all customers to limit use to essential needs to prevent system wide pressure loss.
• 5:21
  Cedric: The state Department of Health issued an islandwide brown water advisory for Kauai after runoff carried sewage, animal waste, and chemical debris into coastal waters, harbors, and drainage outlets.
• 5:33
  Cedric: Ocean Safety advises against all marine recreation until further notice.
• 5:38
  Cedric: About 300 people were sheltering across five Kauai sites yesterday morning.
• 5:43
  Cedric: The utility restored 466 members in Eleele and Hanapepe and is prioritizing critical infrastructure and high density areas, with mutual aid crews mobilizing from Hawaiian Electric under the Western Regional Mutual Assistance Agreement.
• 5:59
  Cedric: Hurricane and tropical storm warnings for Kauai County and Oahu have been cancelled.
• 6:04
  Cedric: A flood watch remains for the Big Island.
• 6:07
  Cedric: Idaho: The Crooked Fire east of Idaho City is at 10,084 acres and 68 percent contained, up eight points, with structures threatened and area, road, and trail closures in effect.
• 6:20
  Cedric: Iowa: The National Weather Service in Des Moines ran a series of flash flood warnings across the metro from early evening through daybreak, with two to four and a half inches of rain observed and additional heavy rain overnight.
• 6:33
  Cedric: Walnut Creek at 63rd Street reached moderate flood stage and is forecast to crest near 14.9 feet late this morning.
• 6:42
  Cedric: The Raccoon River at Fleur Drive is rising toward a forecast crest of about 13.3 feet, with flooding expected to continue into the weekend.
• 6:53
  Cedric: The City of Des Moines reports George Flagg Parkway closed from Southwest 30th Street to Park Avenue, and says police and fire have been actively assisting residents.
• 7:03
  Cedric: Additional closures are tied to river stages not yet reached, so expect the closure list to grow through the day.
• 7:10
  Cedric: Kansas: The Small Business Administration published loan deadlines for the September 1 public assistance declaration covering June flooding in 30 counties plus two tribal nations.
• 7:21
  Cedric: Physical damage applications close November 2, economic injury applications June 1, 2027.
• 7:29
  Cedric: Louisiana: Bossier Parish issued a boil advisory yesterday evening for Village Water System customers in the Stewart Road area of Haughton after a contractor damaged a two inch line.
• 7:41
  Cedric: Repairs are complete and samples are at the state lab.
• 7:45
  Cedric: Michigan: Detroit continues recovery on the lower east side under the mayor’s September 4 local emergency following an EF 2 tornado, with crews clearing downed trees in Districts 4 and 5 and several streets still impassable.
• 8:00
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 8:05
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 8:10
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 8:13
  Cedric: Mississippi: The state emergency management agency reminded residents of an October 3 deadline for federal disaster loans tied to Tropical Storm Arthur damage in June, covering four primary counties and six adjacent counties.
• 8:28
  Cedric: Missouri: The Small Business Administration published matching deadlines for the September 1 public assistance declaration covering July flooding in nine counties.
• 8:37
  Cedric: Physical damage applications close November 2.
• 8:42
  Cedric: Montana: Fire weather watches are posted for eastern and central counties, with west winds gusting to 30 miles per hour and humidity as low as 11 percent.
• 8:52
  Cedric: The Nature Grove Fire southeast of Hamilton sits at 1,422 acres with zero containment and structures threatened.
• 9:01
  Cedric: Nebraska: A flash flood warning covered the Omaha metropolitan area and surrounding counties overnight after one to two inches of rain, and was cancelled before daybreak.
• 9:10
  Cedric: No official source has confirmed closures or rescues.
• 9:15
  Cedric: Oklahoma: The Tulsa forecast office reissued an Extreme Heat Warning for heat index values up to 112 across northeast Oklahoma and the Fort Smith area of Arkansas, valid midday through this evening.
• 9:29
  Cedric: A separate heat advisory covers central and southwestern Oklahoma including the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
• 9:36
  Cedric: Oregon: Evacuations remain in effect on the McCully Fire northwest of Baker City, now 13,545 acres and 59 percent contained, and on the Austin Fire and The Narrows southeast of Estacada.
• 9:50
  Cedric: On the Umatilla National Forest, the Paradise Fire is at 9,654 acres and 28 percent with 961 personnel, and the Hagen Fire at 61,385 acres and 60 percent, both threatening residences and critical infrastructure.
• 10:05
  Cedric: The Grasshopper Fire southwest of Dufur holds at 93,990 acres and 93 percent contained.
• 10:12
  Cedric: Pennsylvania: The state emergency management daily operations report shows the Clinton County emergency operations center at partial activation for adverse weather and the City of Erie center activated, with statewide outages down to about 500 customers.
• 10:27
  Cedric: A multi agency resource center for flood affected residents of Centre, Clinton, and Lycoming counties opens tomorrow in Beech Creek.
• 10:36
  Cedric: South Carolina: McCormick County issued a boil water advisory after a main break, covering residents along Highway 10 from the county line and the Town of Troy.
• 10:47
  Cedric: South Dakota: The Lookout Fire near Spearfish is holding at 443 acres with no containment and voluntary evacuations, and one northbound lane of Interstate 90 is closed between mileposts 10 and 12.
• 11:01
  Cedric: On the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Needles Fire has grown past 6,000 acres at 60 percent containment with no homes threatened.
• 11:10
  Cedric: Tennessee: The state emergency management agency announced yesterday afternoon that Tennessee has requested federal individual and public assistance for Shelby County following August severe storms.
• 11:21
  Cedric: An air quality alert covering Shelby, DeSoto, and Crittenden counties was reissued this morning and runs through late afternoon.
• 11:31
  Cedric: Texas: The Texas A&M Forest Service reported a new large fire yesterday evening, the Kurk Fire northeast of Cherokee in San Saba County, at 1,000 acres and 10 percent contained with 62 personnel assigned.
• 11:44
  Cedric: The Ross Fire near Palo Pinto holds at 90,400 acres and 57 percent, with 157 structures lost and no evacuations in effect.
• 11:54
  Cedric: A flight restriction remains over the fire.
• 11:57
  Cedric: The City of Childress issued a boil water notice after low disinfectant residuals, which officials attributed to extreme heat.
• 12:05
  Cedric: Heat advisories cover roughly 40 north Texas counties, and the Rio Grande Valley faces heat index values of 108 to 111.
• 12:14
  Cedric: Virginia: Purcellville remains under a townwide boil water advisory after a contractor struck the main line supplying the town during interchange work on Route 7.
• 12:24
  Cedric: Crews isolated the break in about 20 minutes and completed repairs, but two rounds of laboratory samples must clear before the advisory lifts, so the town says the earliest lift is tomorrow evening.
• 12:37
  Cedric: The town later reported a second issue at the same location, with possible pressure loss and discoloration.
• 12:45
  Cedric: Washington: The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office reduced evacuation levels in three areas around the Three Queens and Goat fires, moving two areas from Level 2 to Level 1 and one area from Level 3 to Level 2.
• 12:59
  Cedric: All other warnings remain unchanged, and closed national forest lands do not reopen.
• 13:05
  Cedric: Command of both fires transferred to a Northwest team yesterday evening.
• 13:08
  Cedric: The Little Giant Fire northwest of Leavenworth stands at 171,526 acres and 81 percent with 40 structures lost, and the Sinlahekin Fire near Tonasket improved to 68 percent at 166,012 acres with 30 structures lost.
• 13:26
  Cedric: West Virginia: The state health agency portal lists boil water notices issued yesterday and today, including a main line break affecting the entire community of Anawalt in McDowell County and multiple Beckley Water Company areas in Raleigh County.
• 13:42
  Cedric: Wyoming: Red flag warnings cover the Laramie Range, Shirley Basin, Carbon County, and the Green River and Sweetwater basins, with westerly winds to 30 miles per hour and humidity as low as 5 percent.
• 13:55
  Cedric: A freeze warning is posted for Jackson Hole, Star Valley, and the Upper Green River Basin.
• 14:01
  Cedric: All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 14:06
  Cedric: Guam: Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense relayed three National Weather Service products in the window: a flood advisory for central and northern Guam, a second for southwestern Guam, and a flash flood warning for central Guam with
• 14:21
  Cedric: an islandwide flood advisory, after Doppler indicated one to two inches of rain.
• 14:27
  Cedric: Water over roadways and impassable low water crossings were the stated hazards.
• 14:32
  Cedric: All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 14:40
  Cedric: That wraps today’s EM Morning Brief.
• 14:42
  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.
• 14:49
  Cedric: Subscribe on your favorite podcast player.
• 14:51
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 14:54
  Cedric: Stay Safe.