National Preparedness Level 5 with 102 uncontained large fires; Spokane-area fires destroy 660 structures; Idaho's Tartar fire tops 97,000 acres

August 4
8 mins

Episode Description

The nation holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 102 uncontained large fires and more than 29,000 personnel committed. Three fires around Spokane destroy 660 structures and force thousands from their homes, Idaho’s Tartar fire grows by more than 81,000 acres in a day, and Utah’s Widemouth 2 fire races toward Kanosh with extreme wind-driven behavior. CISA adds an N-able N-central authentication bypass to its exploited vulnerabilities catalog, Kilauea’s next episode is forecast for August 7 to 14, and FEMA opens an assistance center for the Fort Peck Tribes in Montana. 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

National wildfire posture: The nation remains at Preparedness Level 5 with 102 uncontained large fires, 29,201 personnel committed, and 5.15 million acres burned year to date, 137 percent of the ten-year average.

Spokane-area fires: The Old Trails, Autumn Lane, and Fairview fires hold zero containment with Level 3 evacuations, 660 structures lost, and state and local emergency declarations in effect.

Idaho’s Tartar fire: An 81,000-acre single-day run pushes the fire to 97,143 acres northwest of Weiser, with evacuations in effect and communication infrastructure threatened.

Utah’s Widemouth 2 fire: Extreme wind-driven fire behavior near Kanosh, 36,438 acres at zero containment, with evacuations in effect.

Cybersecurity: CISA adds CVE-2026-18577, an N-able N-central authentication bypass, to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with federal remediation deadlines.

Volcano watch: Great Sitkin remains at WATCH and ORANGE with slow lava effusion; Kilauea’s next eruptive episode is forecast between August 7 and 14.

Montana recovery: FEMA operates an assistance center in Poplar August 4 and 5 for Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribal members affected by the December 2025 winter storm.

Southwest weather: A flood watch and blowing dust advisory cover the Tucson metro area this afternoon and evening as monsoon activity increases.

Sponsors

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Sources

NIFC and Wildfire

NIFC Incident Management Situation Report: Preparedness Level 5, national fire statistics, and incident details

CISA

CISA adds one known exploited vulnerability to catalog: CVE-2026-18577, N-able N-central

National Hurricane Center

NHC Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: no tropical cyclone formation expected in the next 7 days

USGS Volcanoes

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Kilauea update, ADVISORY, next episode forecast August 7 to 14

USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory: Great Sitkin update, WATCH and ORANGE

FEMA and Montana

FEMA newsroom: press releases including the Fort Peck assistance center announcement

FEMA DR-4914: Fort Peck Tribes severe winter storm and straight-line winds disaster page

Arizona

KOLD News 13: flood watch and blowing dust advisory for southeast Arizona

Connecticut

WFSB: boil water advisory continues for Waterbury water customers

Minnesota

Superior National Forest: BWCAW wildfire area closures

Oregon

Central Oregon Fire Info: Bench and Round Butte fire daily update, August 3, 2026

Central Oregon Fire Info: Rowe Creek Complex update, August 3, 2026

Texas

NWS Fort Worth/Dallas: forecasts and heat advisories for North Texas

FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth: triple-digit heat returns to North Texas as heat dome locks in

Washington

KHQ: thousands evacuated, hundreds of structures destroyed in Spokane-area fires

Spokane County: state of emergency services updates

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