The national wildfire system holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 93 large fires across 16 states. In California, the Timber Fire drives an open-ended Highway 1 closure through Big Sur beginning at 1:00 p.m. today, and a new fire starts near Gorda. In Texas, the Ross Fire reaches 80,000 acres at 12 percent containment with highway closures and a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant. Indiana receives a major disaster declaration for 21 counties after the August 11 derecho, Hawaii County gets federal assistance following Hurricane Lala, and Wisconsin survivors face an August 31 application deadline. Also today: Extreme Heat Warnings across the Desert Southwest, six new entries in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and Pennsylvania’s first measles deaths in 35 years. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.

Key Takeaways

· Wildfire posture: National Preparedness Level 5 continues since July 18, with 93 large fires, more than 3.7 million active acres, and 22,356 personnel assigned across 16 states.

· Big Sur transportation impact: Highway 1 closes in both directions at 1:00 p.m. today between Andrew Molera State Park and Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn for Timber Fire backburning, with no stated reopening time. Plan detours and resupply accordingly.

· North Texas fire growth: The Ross Fire expanded roughly 30,000 acres overnight to 80,000 acres at 12 percent containment. Jack County evacuations are lifted, Palo Pinto County remains under a strong advisory, and multiple state highways stay closed.

· New federal declarations: Indiana receives Individual Assistance for 21 counties and Public Assistance for 11 after the August 11 derecho. Hawaii County receives emergency protective measures at 75 percent federal cost share after Hurricane Lala.

· Assistance deadlines: Wisconsin FEMA and SBA applications close Monday, August 31. Indiana replacement SNAP affidavits are due August 31. Louisiana’s Tropical Storm Arthur deadline is October 1, with the Terrebonne Parish recovery center closing Saturday.

· Cyber priority: CISA added six vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog on August 26, including an actively exploited Citrix NetScaler pre-authentication remote code execution flaw. Federal civilian agencies must prioritize remediation under BOD 26-04.

· Heat operations: Extreme Heat Warnings run through Friday in Nevada and Southern California and through Saturday in Arizona, with overnight lows offering little relief in the Las Vegas and Pahrump valleys.

· Public health: Pennsylvania confirms two measles deaths in Lancaster County, including an infant, the state’s first in 35 years, against 393 confirmed cases in 28 counties.

· Lifelines: Memphis Light, Gas and Water still had 13,905 customers out Wednesday morning after the August 22 windstorm, with full restoration targeted for this evening.

· Volcano watch: Great Sitkin remains at Watch, Orange. Kīlauea is paused between fountaining episodes at Advisory, Yellow, with another episode considered likely in coming weeks.

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Sources

NIFC and national wildfire

· NIFC National Fire News: preparedness level, large fire counts, national acreage

· NICC Incident Management Situation Report, August 26, 2026: per-incident acreage and containment

NOAA and NWS

· NWS active Extreme Heat Warnings: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, Flagstaff, San Diego, Los Angeles

· SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook: Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, western Nebraska into northwest Kansas

· NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook: no active tropical cyclones

· NHC Eastern Pacific Tropical Weather Outlook

CISA

· CISA adds six known exploited vulnerabilities to catalog, August 26, 2026

· Binding Operational Directive 26-04 implementation guidance

· CISA cybersecurity advisories index

DHS

· DHS National Terrorism Advisory System: no current advisories

Travel advisories

· State Department Honduras Travel Advisory, reissued August 25, 2026, Level 3 unchanged

· State Department Israel, West Bank and Gaza Travel Advisory, reissued August 26, 2026, no level change

USGS

· USGS Volcano Hazards HANS notices: current US volcano alert levels

· HVO daily update for Kīlauea, August 26, 2026

· AVO daily update: Great Sitkin, Shishaldin, Kupreanof, August 26, 2026

California

· CAL FIRE Timber Fire incident page: acreage, containment, evacuations

· CAL FIRE Plaskett Fire incident page: start time and initial size

· Monterey County NOW: Sheriff announces Highway 1 closure and Plaskett Fire evacuations

Texas

· Governor Abbott announces federal Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Ross Fire

· Dallas Morning News: Ross Fire at 80,000 acres, 12 percent contained, road closures and structure losses

Indiana

· Indiana DHS media status update, August 25, 2026: fatalities, shelters, outages, SNAP deadline

· Indiana DHS August 2026 disaster hub

· Indiana Capital Chronicle: major disaster declaration approved for 21 counties

Washington

· InciWeb Little Giant Fire incident information

· InciWeb Sinlahekin Fire incident information

· InciWeb Three Queens Fire: Pacific Crest Trail and recreation closures

· Chelan County Emergency Management active emergencies

Oregon

· Umatilla County emergency advisories: Hagen Fire and Paradise Fire evacuation levels

· KATU: Estacada chemical drum venting prompts evacuation, later cleared

Hawaii

· Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Hurricane Lala updates

· Big Island Now: FEMA designation, Hawaiian Electric outages, boil water notice

Tennessee

· WMC Action News 5: MLGW outage count and restoration target

· WMC Action News 5: Tennessee DHS replacement SNAP benefits for storm food loss

Pennsylvania

· 6ABC: Pennsylvania Department of Health confirms infant among two Lancaster County measles deaths

· DOE 2026 Section 202(c) orders: Eddystone Generating Station availability through November 20

Wisconsin

· Wisconsin Emergency Management: August 31 deadline to apply for FEMA and SBA assistance

· Milwaukee NNS: assistance totals and Northwest Health Center recovery center closing

Montana

· InciWeb Sand Creek Fire incident information

· NBC Montana: Sand Creek Fire acreage, evacuations and Pioneer Scenic Byway closure

Colorado

· InciWeb Elk Fire incident information, Hinsdale County

Connecticut

· WFSB: Simsbury water main break and Aquarion restoration window

Louisiana

· Terrebonne Parish Disaster Recovery Center closing August 29 and October 1 application deadline

Idaho and Minnesota

· NICC Incident Management Situation Report, August 26, 2026: Wildhorse Fire and Superior National Forest incidents