Latest / EM Morning Brief / Nationwide EAS Test on Nov 17 and Federal Cyber Deadlines

Transcript

Nationwide EAS Test on Nov 17 and Federal Cyber Deadlines · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Thursday, September 17, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: The Southern Area is carrying the country's fire load this morning.
• 0:11
  Cedric: The National Interagency Fire Center counts nine new large incidents in that area alone, 15 uncontained large fires there, and 61 uncontained large fires nationally.
• 0:22
  Cedric: The country stays at National Preparedness Level 3, with 11 complex incident management teams committed and about 11,500 personnel assigned.
• 0:32
  Cedric: Three incidents are driving evacuations and structure threat, all three showing extreme fire behavior: the Bunker Fire in southern Arkansas, and the Hydra and Dry River fires in Texas.
• 0:44
  Cedric: Year to date acreage stands at 8.5 million, which is 147 percent of the ten year average.
• 0:50
  Cedric: A slow moving storm system is producing flash flooding across the Ohio Valley this morning.
• 0:56
  Cedric: Flash Flood Warnings cover west central Ohio and northeast Indiana, where trained spotters report flooding on already saturated ground, and the Wabash River near Linn Grove is forecast to approach its flood of record.
• 1:09
  Cedric: Flood watches run from New Mexico and Arizona through Utah, Colorado, the upper Midwest and all of Hawaii.
• 1:16
  Cedric: Separately, Heat Advisories stretch from Oklahoma and Arkansas through Tennessee and the lower Ohio Valley, with heat index values reaching 109.
• 1:26
  Cedric: On the federal side, CISA added three vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Wednesday, affecting Google Pixel, Cisco Identity Services Engine and Acronis Backup, with a remediation deadline of Friday, September 19, for federal civilian agencies.
• 1:44
  Cedric: FEMA and the FCC have also set the 2026 nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System for Tuesday, November 17, at approximately 2:20 p.m.
• 1:54
  Cedric: Eastern, running 30 minutes across radio, television, cable, satellite and wireline video providers.
• 2:01
  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
• 2:03
  Cedric: Alaska.
• 2:04
  Cedric: The Alaska Volcano Observatory keeps Great Sitkin at Watch and aviation color code Orange, reporting that slow eruption of lava within the summit crater continues alongside weak seismicity.
• 2:15
  Cedric: Shishaldin remains at Advisory and color code Yellow.
• 2:19
  Cedric: NWS Fairbanks has a flood watch for the Upper Chena River Valley along Chena Hot Springs Road west of milepost 40, running through Saturday afternoon.
• 2:29
  Cedric: Arizona.
• 2:30
  Cedric: NWS Phoenix has a flood warning for Maricopa and Pinal counties until 8:30 a.m.
• 2:35
  Cedric: MST, warning that low water crossings may become inundated and impassable.
• 2:40
  Cedric: A flash flood watch covers southeast Gila County and surrounding areas including Globe, Miami, San Carlos, Superior and Tonto Basin.
• 2:48
  Cedric: Arkansas.
• 2:50
  Cedric: The Bunker Fire is at 1,950 acres and 30 percent contained, two miles east of East Camden.
• 2:56
  Cedric: Fire behavior is extreme, with short crown runs, backing and flanking.
• 3:01
  Cedric: Numerous structures are threatened, and evacuations plus area and road closures are in effect.
• 3:07
  Cedric: Estimated containment is September 24.
• 3:10
  Cedric: Separately, the Shelby County Health Department has issued a Code Orange ozone forecast that includes Crittenden County.
• 3:17
  Cedric: California.
• 3:18
  Cedric: The Lucas Fire in the Cal Fire Sonoma, Lake and Napa Unit is at 4,128 acres and 40 percent contained, ten miles north of Upper Lake, with numerous residences and critical infrastructure threatened.
• 3:31
  Cedric: Evacuations and area, road and trail closures are in effect, and nearly 2,000 personnel are assigned.
• 3:38
  Cedric: On the Los Padres National Forest, the Timber Fire is at 25,426 acres and 44 percent contained, threatening structures and communication infrastructure.
• 3:49
  Cedric: Hawaii.
• 3:51
  Cedric: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory holds Kilauea at Watch and color code Orange.
• 3:55
  Cedric: Five new vents have opened on and near the northwest wall of Halemaumau crater and are producing small lava flows, with spattering from the north vent, periodic bursts from the south and west vents, stalled summit inflation and increasing tremor.
• 4:10
  Cedric: NWS Honolulu has a flash flood watch for all main Hawaiian Islands through late Thursday night as remnant moisture from former Tropical Storm Norbert moves across the state.
• 4:22
  Cedric: Idaho.
• 4:23
  Cedric: NWS Boise has issued a Red Flag Warning for lightning from noon to 9 p.m.
• 4:27
  Cedric: MDT covering the northern Boise National Forest and the southern Boise and western Sawtooth zones including the Camas Prairie.
• 4:35
  Cedric: Scattered thunderstorms are expected to bring outflow gusts to 50 mph with minimal rainfall.
• 4:42
  Cedric: Illinois.
• 4:43
  Cedric: The FAA has ground stops in place at Chicago Midway until 6:45 a.m.
• 4:47
  Cedric: Central and at Chicago O'Hare until 7:15 a.m.
• 4:50
  Cedric: Central, both for thunderstorms.
• 4:53
  Cedric: A flood watch covers Carroll, Rock Island and Whiteside counties in northwest Illinois.
• 4:58
  Cedric: Indiana.
• 5:01
  Cedric: A Flash Flood Warning covers Adams, Huntington and Wells counties, where trained spotters report flash flooding in and around Bluffton after 2 to 4 inches of rain fell on already saturated ground.
• 5:13
  Cedric: The Wabash River near Linn Grove is under a flood warning with moderate flooding forecast, a level that approaches the flood of record, and the Wabash at Bluffton is in minor flood into Monday evening.
• 5:24
  Cedric: A separate flood watch covers Howard, Madison, Tipton, Delaware and Randolph counties until 2 p.m.
• 5:30
  Cedric: Eastern.
• 5:31
  Cedric: Iowa.
• 5:32
  Cedric: NWS Omaha has a flood warning for southeastern Fremont and west central Page counties, with flooding of the East Nishnabotna River at Riverton along 250th Street.
• 5:43
  Cedric: A flood watch covers ten counties in east central Iowa, and dense fog advisories are posted across much of the state.
• 5:50
  Cedric: Kansas.
• 5:52
  Cedric: Wichita is under a citywide boil water advisory affecting roughly 500,000 water customers, the largest lifeline disruption in the country this morning.
• 6:02
  Cedric: The city reports power was lost at the main water treatment plant and the Hess pump station around 5 a.m.
• 6:08
  Cedric: Wednesday, an outage of about 45 minutes.
• 6:12
  Cedric: The advisory extends to wholesale customers and restaurants.
• 6:15
  Cedric: Residents are told to boil water for one minute before drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water, and to discard ice.
• 6:23
  Cedric: Water testing is underway at 195 stations, and only the Kansas Department of Health and Environment can rescind the advisory after certified laboratory results, which take about 24 hours from sample collection.
• 6:36
  Cedric: Elementary schools in USD 259 with 9 a.m.
• 6:40
  Cedric: start times closed Wednesday.
• 6:43
  Cedric: Elsewhere in the state, Stranger Creek at Easton is under a flood warning for minor flooding into late Thursday night.
• 6:50
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 6:55
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 6:59
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 7:03
  Cedric: Missouri.
• 7:04
  Cedric: Laclede County Central Dispatch lost all 911 and administrative phone lines Wednesday after a telecommunications provider network failure.
• 7:12
  Cedric: Officials issued backup emergency dispatch numbers and directed cell phone users to dial star 55 to reach the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which relays emergencies to the county.
• 7:24
  Cedric: Boone and Cole county 911 service has been restored after a separate outage.
• 7:29
  Cedric: On rivers, the Grand River near Sumner is forecast to reach moderate flooding from Thursday morning into Saturday evening, and the Platte River near Agency is forecast for minor flooding into Friday evening.
• 7:43
  Cedric: Montana.
• 7:45
  Cedric: The Davis Coulee Fire on the Crow Agency is at 15,470 acres with zero containment, nine miles southwest of Crow Agency, after growing 13,470 acres in a single reporting period.
• 7:57
  Cedric: Fire behavior is moderate with creeping and smoldering.
• 8:00
  Cedric: Residences are threatened and evacuations are in effect.
• 8:04
  Cedric: Nevada.
• 8:05
  Cedric: NWS Elko has a Red Flag Warning for fire weather zones 426 and 427 today, covering northern Nye County and central Nevada.
• 8:14
  Cedric: Sustained southerly winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 are expected alongside minimum afternoon humidity of 10 to 15 percent, and any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
• 8:27
  Cedric: New Mexico.
• 8:29
  Cedric: NWS Albuquerque has a flash flood watch from 11 a.m.
• 8:32
  Cedric: MDT through late tonight for northwest New Mexico and the South Central Mountains, explicitly including the Ruidoso area burn scars, with rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour possible during afternoon and evening storms.
• 8:46
  Cedric: A second watch from NWS El Paso covers south central and southwest New Mexico from noon today through 6 a.m.
• 8:53
  Cedric: Friday, where a 1 to 2 inch swath of rain over the past 24 hours has left high soil moisture.
• 9:01
  Cedric: Ohio.
• 9:02
  Cedric: NWS Wilmington has a Flash Flood Warning for northwestern Auglaize County and Mercer County until 9 a.m.
• 9:07
  Cedric: Eastern, with 1 to 2.5 inches of rain already fallen and flash flooding ongoing or beginning shortly.
• 9:14
  Cedric: A broader flash flood watch covers central and west central Ohio, including Franklin, Licking, Delaware, Madison, Union, Clark, Champaign, Darke, Hardin, Logan, Miami and Shelby counties.
• 9:26
  Cedric: Oklahoma.
• 9:26
  Cedric: The Gracemont Fire under the BIA Anadarko Agency is at 3,000 acres with zero containment, six miles east of Binger, after growing 692 acres.
• 9:37
  Cedric: Fire behavior is active with wind-driven runs, short-range spotting and crowning, numerous structures are threatened, and 25 structures have been lost.
• 9:46
  Cedric: The Calvary Creek Fire is at 815 acres and 5 percent contained near Rocky, and the Black Kettle Fire is at 1,526 acres and 50 percent contained.
• 9:58
  Cedric: On the recovery side, new FEMA flood maps for Latimer County become effective March 16, 2027, starting a six month compliance window for local floodplain ordinances.
• 10:08
  Cedric: Oregon.
• 10:10
  Cedric: On the Mt.
• 10:10
  Cedric: Hood National Forest, the Austin Fire is at 12,844 acres and 77 percent contained with evacuations and area, road and trail closures in effect, and The Narrows is at 98 percent contained, also with evacuations.
• 10:25
  Cedric: The NWS Boise Red Flag Warning extends into eastern Oregon, covering the Burns and northwestern Vale BLM districts, Steens Mountain and Baker Valley.
• 10:34
  Cedric: Texas.
• 10:36
  Cedric: The Hydra Fire, under Texas A&M Forest Service, is at 1,000 acres and 10 percent contained, three miles south of Meridian.
• 10:43
  Cedric: Fire behavior is extreme with long-range spotting and wind-driven runs, numerous structures are threatened, and evacuations are in effect.
• 10:51
  Cedric: The Dry River Fire is at 3,500 acres with zero containment, five miles southeast of Sonora, showing extreme fire behavior with group torching and long-range spotting, and residences are threatened.
• 11:05
  Cedric: The Ross Fire near Palo Pinto is at 90,400 acres and 93 percent contained, with 157 structures lost, and command transfers from the incident management team back to the local unit.
• 11:19
  Cedric: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has declared an Ozone Action Day for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
• 11:26
  Cedric: Washington.
• 11:26
  Cedric: On the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, the Three Queens Fire is at 9,555 acres and 20 percent contained, six miles east of Snoqualmie Pass, with numerous residences and critical infrastructure threatened and evacuations plus area, road and trail closures in effect.
• 11:44
  Cedric: The Sisi Fire is at 3,449 acres and 5 percent contained after growing 256 acres, threatening residences and energy infrastructure.
• 11:54
  Cedric: Wyoming.
• 11:54
  Cedric: The Moonshine Fire in the BLM High Desert District is at 7,304 acres and 51 percent contained, 17 miles southwest of Wheatland.
• 12:03
  Cedric: Residences are threatened and two structures have been lost, though precipitation fell over the fire area in the last reporting period.
• 12:12
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 12:14
  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.
• 12:22
  Cedric: Follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 12:24
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 12:27
  Cedric: Stay Safe.