·S1 E246

Preparedness Level 5 holds with 94 uncontained large fires; CISA adds three exploited vulnerabilities with Sunday federal deadlines

August 28

15 mins

Episode Description

The nation stays at Preparedness Level 5 with 94 uncontained large fires and nearly 22,000 personnel committed, as the Little Giant and Sinlahekin fires drive evacuations in Washington and Clackamas County, Oregon issues a Level 3 Go Now order along a closed Highway 224. Flash flooding hits New Jersey and puts Philadelphia International Airport under a ground stop. Monterey County, California upgrades evacuation zones and hard closes Highway 1 for firing operations on the Timber Fire. CISA adds three vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with federal remediation due Sunday and publishes five industrial control system advisories touching the emergency services, energy, and water sectors. Plus federal registration centers open in Indiana, a Wisconsin assistance deadline approaches, and Tropical Storm Dolly is watched from the Caribbean. 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: Preparedness Level 5 holds with 94 uncontained large fires and 21,854 personnel committed. Nearly 8 million acres have burned year to date, 164 percent of the ten year average. Australian and New Zealand crews and 240 U.S. soldiers are supporting Northwest operations.

• Today’s fire weather: West-southwest winds gusting 35 to 45 miles per hour with humidity of 5 to 20 percent, with locally critical conditions from northeast California and northwest Nevada into southeast Oregon and southwest Idaho.

• Active evacuations: Little Giant, Three Queens, Grand Park 2, Goat, and the Wonderland Complex in Washington; McCully, Paradise, and Hagen in Oregon plus a new Level 3 order in Clackamas County; Cherry Fire in Lemhi County, Idaho; Sand Creek in Montana; Frijoles in New Mexico; Plaskett and Timber in Monterey County, California; Mukluk in Alaska.

• Lifeline disruption in the mid-Atlantic: Philadelphia International Airport recorded 391 delays and 254 cancellations under a Thursday ground stop, and Staten Island Railway service was suspended between Huguenot and Tottenville.

• Cyber action items: Federal agencies have a Sunday, August 30 deadline on the ownCloud and Linux kernel entries added to the KEV catalog Thursday. Two of Thursday’s five ICS advisories touch emergency services, energy, and water and wastewater, and fixes are not planned for two fuel management product variants.

• Assistance deadlines: Wisconsin applicants for the April 2026 storms have until Monday, August 31. Indiana replacement food assistance affidavits are also due Monday, and federal mobile registration intake centers open in five Indiana counties today.

• Water system stress: Boil water notices are active in Sumter County, Alabama; north Meridian, Mississippi; and West Columbia, South Carolina. On St. Croix, a new leak has returned low or no pressure to gravity fed service areas amid extreme drought.

• Volcanoes and tropics: No U.S. volcano changed alert level. Great Sitkin remains at Watch and Kilauea at Advisory. Tropical Storm Dolly carries no U.S. watches or warnings, though remnant moisture could reach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Sunday into Monday.

Preparedness Level 5 holds with 94 uncontained large fires; CISA adds three exploited vulnerabilities with Sunday federal deadlines

Episode Description

NIFC and national wildfire

National Hurricane Center

National Weather Service and severe weather

CISA

Travel advisories

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Hawaii

Idaho

Indiana

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Texas

Washington

Wisconsin

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands

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