Latest / EM Morning Brief / Midwest storms turn deadly as Indiana and Ohio declare emergencies; Kilauea begins Episode 53

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Midwest storms turn deadly as Indiana and Ohio declare emergencies; Kilauea begins Episode 53 · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Thursday, August 13, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: The nation remains at Preparedness Level 5, the highest tier, with firefighters working to contain 101 uncontained large fires and more than 30,000 personnel assigned to incidents nationwide.
• 0:19
  Cedric: Eighty-four new fires were reported Tuesday, including seven new large fires.
• 0:24
  Cedric: So far this year, 46,509 wildfires have burned more than 6.4 million acres, running 126 percent and 155 percent of the 10 year averages.
• 0:36
  Cedric: The Northwest remains the most active geographic area with 44 uncontained large fires, and forecasters expect elevated to locally critical fire weather across eastern New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and southern Kansas with gusts to 35 mph, temperatures near 105 degrees,
• 0:54
  Cedric: and humidity as low as 10 percent.
• 0:57
  Cedric: In the Midwest and Ohio Valley, two days of severe weather have left three people dead, including a 4 year old boy killed by a falling tree in Indiana.
• 1:07
  Cedric: The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes in Chicago's southern suburbs, and flash flood emergencies were issued in Indiana as up to 10 inches of rain fell.
• 1:18
  Cedric: Indiana Governor Mike Braun declares a state of disaster emergency for 18 counties, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declares a state of emergency and activates the Ohio National Guard for rescue operations.
• 1:31
  Cedric: As of Wednesday morning, more than 220,000 customers in Ohio and another 450,000 across Indiana and Illinois remained without power; ComEd expects roughly 80 percent of its outages restored by midday today and 99 percent by Saturday night.
• 1:49
  Cedric: In Hawaii, Episode 53 of the Kilauea summit eruption began Wednesday afternoon with lava fountains reaching 80 to 100 feet; the volcano is at alert level Watch with aviation color code Orange.
• 2:03
  Cedric: On the cyber front, CISA added three known exploited vulnerabilities affecting Cisco firewalls, Microsoft Windows, and Metabase to its KEV catalog (official update published about 40 hours ago), and federal officials continue to warn about an ongoing campaign targeting municipal
• 2:19
  Cedric: water systems in at least a dozen states.
• 2:23
  Cedric: In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Cristobal is far from land near the Azores with no coastal watches or warnings and is forecast to dissipate today, while the National Hurricane Center monitors a central Atlantic system with a high chance of
• 2:37
  Cedric: development.
• 2:39
  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
• 2:41
  Cedric: Alaska: The Tatlanika Fire is burning 31,000 acres 23 miles east of Clear and is 15 percent contained.
• 2:49
  Cedric: California: Six large fires are burning 18,047 acres.
• 2:54
  Cedric: The Timber Fire near Big Sur stands at 2,989 acres and 5 percent containment, and the MP18 Fire near Hoopa is at 2,107 acres and 10 percent.
• 3:05
  Cedric: The Gann Fire near Valley Springs is 94 percent contained at 10,339 acres.
• 3:11
  Cedric: Colorado: Six large fires are burning 158,579 acres.
• 3:16
  Cedric: The Aspen Acres Fire near Rye holds at 102,004 acres and 72 percent containment, the Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray is 87 percent contained at 39,646 acres, and the Elk Fire near Lake City is at 7,404 acres and 35
• 3:32
  Cedric: percent.
• 3:34
  Cedric: Florida: A new large fire, the Jones Island Fire, is burning 700 acres at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge northwest of DeLand with no containment.
• 3:44
  Cedric: Hawaii: Episode 53 of the ongoing Kilauea summit eruption began at 3:45 p.m.
• 3:50
  Cedric: Wednesday, Hawaii time, with fountains of 80 to 100 feet from the north vent in Halemaumau.
• 3:56
  Cedric: The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory holds the volcano at Watch and aviation color code Orange.
• 4:03
  Cedric: Hazards remain confined to the closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with volcanic gas and Pele's hair possible downwind.
• 4:11
  Cedric: Idaho: Ten large fires are burning 174,818 acres.
• 4:17
  Cedric: The Tartar Fire northwest of Weiser is 93 percent contained at 158,027 acres.
• 4:23
  Cedric: The Big Grass Fire, managed from Oregon, extends into Owyhee County.
• 4:27
  Cedric: Smaller fires, including Moose Mountain and Doublesprings, remain in early stages of containment.
• 4:33
  Cedric: Illinois: The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes in Chicago's south suburbs, including EF1 damage in southern Cook and eastern Will counties, with wind gusts up to 96 mph downing trees and power lines.
• 4:47
  Cedric: Severe storms cut power to more than half a million customers in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana at the peak.
• 4:54
  Cedric: ComEd has nearly 3,000 workers in the field and estimates about 80 percent of outages restored by noon today and 99 percent by 11 p.m.
• 5:04
  Cedric: Saturday.
• 5:06
  Cedric: Indiana: Governor Mike Braun declares a state of disaster emergency for 18 counties hit by tornadoes and flooding, and the State Emergency Operations Center is at Level 3 activation.
• 5:18
  Cedric: Flash flood emergencies were issued Wednesday for Fayette, Union, and Wayne counties after 7 to 10 inches of rain fell across western Wayne County in 24 hours.
• 5:28
  Cedric: Residents in parts of Connersville were asked to evacuate as the Whitewater River rose toward a forecast crest near 23 feet, and deputies conducted vehicle rescues from high water.
• 5:40
  Cedric: A 4 year old boy died when a tree fell on his home.
• 5:44
  Cedric: Minnesota: Five large fires are burning 65,128 acres in the Superior National Forest north of Ely.
• 5:52
  Cedric: The Bear Trap Fire is at 29,991 acres and 44 percent containment, and the Thumb Fire is at 17,634 acres and 48 percent.
• 6:02
  Cedric: Montana: Nine large fires are burning 46,057 acres.
• 6:07
  Cedric: The Sand Creek Fire southeast of Wisdom is at 19,683 acres with no containment, the Bobcat Lakes Fire east of Wisdom is at 8,521 acres, and the Silvertip Fire northeast of Condon is at 6,501 acres, all uncontained.
• 6:22
  Cedric: A new fire, White Rock, is burning southwest of Malta at 50 percent containment.
• 6:27
  Cedric: Nevada: Five large fires are burning 188,096 acres.
• 6:33
  Cedric: The Bug Fire near Hallelujah Junction is at 57,966 acres with no containment, the Mouse Meadow Fire on the Nellis range is 65 percent contained at 52,000 acres, and a new fire, the Stallion Fire west of Nixon, is at
• 6:47
  Cedric: 31,548 acres with no containment.
• 6:51
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from the sponsor supporting today’s episode.
• 6:58
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting the sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 7:01
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 7:05
  Cedric: New Mexico: Elevated to locally critical fire weather is forecast across the eastern part of the state.
• 7:11
  Cedric: The Frijoles Fire in the Pecos Wilderness is at 6,214 acres with no containment.
• 7:18
  Cedric: Ohio: Governor Mike DeWine declares a state of emergency and activates the Ohio National Guard, deploying 40 members and 20 tactical vehicles to assist rescue efforts in flooded areas.
• 7:30
  Cedric: More than 220,000 customers remained without power early Wednesday.
• 7:35
  Cedric: Dayton set a daily rainfall record of 2.07 inches, breaking a mark from 1915, and a lightning strike at a prison in Grafton sent 16 people to hospitals, one by medical helicopter.
• 7:48
  Cedric: One storm related death is reported in the state.
• 7:52
  Cedric: Oklahoma: The Mill Creek Fire north of Stringtown is at 218 acres and 30 percent containment, and critical fire weather is forecast across much of the state.
• 8:03
  Cedric: Oregon: Twenty-three large fires are burning more than 1.9 million acres, the most of any state.
• 8:10
  Cedric: The Grasshopper Fire near Mount Hood has destroyed six homes and 15 outbuildings in Wasco County, threatens about 200 structures, and holds 20 percent containment, with Level 3 Go Now evacuations in parts of Wasco and Hood River counties and
• 8:25
  Cedric: Highway 35 closed again east of Government Camp.
• 8:30
  Cedric: The Big Grass Fire in Malheur County stands at 575,343 acres and 36 percent containment.
• 8:38
  Cedric: Governor Tina Kotek ordered flags lowered for Jason Ensign, who died August 6 while supporting the Wrights Spring Fire response in Klamath County.
• 8:47
  Cedric: Pennsylvania: Authorities in western Pennsylvania report numerous water rescues as heavy rain from the same storm system pushed creeks and streams out of their banks.
• 8:58
  Cedric: South Dakota: The Bear Butte Fire east of Sturgis is at 457 acres and 90 percent containment.
• 9:05
  Cedric: Texas: Critical fire weather continues with temperatures near 105 degrees, humidity of 10 to 25 percent, and gusts to 35 mph.
• 9:15
  Cedric: The Bufford Creek Fire near Breckenridge is 80 percent contained at 3,150 acres, and a new fire, Dos Pistolas near Falfurrias, is at 1,000 acres and 70 percent containment.
• 9:27
  Cedric: Utah: Three large fires are burning 143,991 acres.
• 9:33
  Cedric: The Widemouth 2 Fire near Kanosh is at 125,082 acres and 36 percent containment, the Rocky Canyon Fire near Henefer is at 15,366 acres and 25 percent, and the Black Canyon Fire southwest of Price is at 3,543 acres and
• 9:49
  Cedric: 9 percent.
• 9:50
  Cedric: Washington: Twenty large fires are burning 560,196 acres.
• 9:57
  Cedric: The Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket is at 150,241 acres and 42 percent containment with evacuations and closures in effect.
• 10:06
  Cedric: The Little Giant Fire northwest of Leavenworth is at 122,401 acres and 5 percent containment, prompting Level 3 Go Now evacuations in Chelan County, including the Chiwawa and Tyee ridges and the Chelan Mountains.
• 10:19
  Cedric: The Kaiser Canyon Fire near Nespelem is 74 percent contained at 138,218 acres.
• 10:26
  Cedric: Wyoming: The Weiser Knoll Fire southeast of Lander is at 16,531 acres and 30 percent containment, and the Cold Springs Fire near Douglas is 70 percent contained at 1,966 acres.
• 10:40
  Cedric: All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 10:46
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 10:49
  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.
• 10:56
  Cedric: Subscribe on the Emergency Management Network on Substack, or follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 11:01
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 11:04
  Cedric: Stay Safe.