Today’s brief covers overnight growth on Utah’s Cottonwood and Babylon fires and Colorado’s Aspen Acres Fire as the nation holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 51 uncontained large fires, federal grid emergency orders for PJM as demand today could break the all time record during widespread extreme heat, a CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities addition for Microsoft SharePoint with a July 4 remediation deadline, Guam’s advisory on Tropical Storm 09W and a possible category 4 passage through the Marianas early next week, plus state updates from Arizona, California, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and more. 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 activity: The nation holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 51 uncontained large fires. Utah’s Cottonwood Fire leads at 93,918 acres and 5 percent containment, the Babylon Fire jumps to 70,735 acres at 0 percent, and Colorado’s Aspen Acres Fire grows to 47,953 acres with evacuations in Rye, Beulah, and Wetmore and more than 150 structures reported destroyed.
• Grid emergency: DOE Section 202(c) orders for PJM run through 11:59 PM Eastern July 3, and peak demand today could break the 2006 all time record. Maryland, Virginia, DC, and Delaware sit in the highest stress zone; watch for conservation appeals.
• Extreme heat: Warning level heat covers a large portion of the country from the Plains to New England through the July 4 holiday, with cooling center activations in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New York City, Indianapolis, and beyond.
• Marianas typhoon threat: Tropical Storm 09W is forecast to intensify rapidly and could pass through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands late Sunday into Monday at possible category 4 strength. Preparedness messaging is active now.
• Cyber: CISA adds SharePoint flaw CVE-2026-45659 to the KEV catalog with a July 4 remediation deadline, and the SimpleHelp KEV remediation deadline falls today.
• Severe weather: SPC places the northern Plains into the Upper Midwest under an Enhanced Risk today with very large hail and gusts above 75 mph possible; overnight storm damage reports are still developing in Minnesota and Iowa.
• Water systems: LADWP issues a boil water notice for part of Koreatown after E. coli detections, while St. Louis lifts its precautionary boil water advisory.
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Sources
NIFC and InciWeb
• NIFC National Fire News: PL4, 51 uncontained large fires, Cottonwood Fire
• NIFC Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory: Colorado and southern Wyoming, July 1
• InciWeb incident list: overnight acreage updates
FEMA
• OpenFEMA disaster declarations: FM-5643-CO, Gold Mountain Fire FMAG
CISA
• Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: CVE-2026-45659 SharePoint, CVE-2026-48558 SimpleHelp
DHS
• National Terrorism Advisory System: no current advisories
NOAA and NWS
• SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook: Enhanced Risk northern Plains into Upper Midwest
• NHC Atlantic tropical outlook: no development expected
• NHC East Pacific outlook: Tropical Storm Douglas weakening
• Weather.com: heat wave stretches into the July 4 week
Grid and Power
• DOE: emergency orders secure Mid-Atlantic grid ahead of hot weather
• The Hill: heat dome strains the power grid
• Electric Choice: PJM demand forecast and record figures
USGS
• M 3.8 earthquake near Oak Harbor, Washington, event page
Alabama
• WAAY: heat advisories continue through Thursday
Alaska
• Alaska Wildland Fire Information: Martha Fire stopped at 5 acres near Soldotna
• Alaska Wildland Fire Information: final Starry Fire update, evacuations lifted
Arizona
• Arizona Emergency Information Network: Pocket Fire containment reaches 20 percent
Arkansas
• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: heat advisory and storm threat
California
• LADWP: boil water notice for small area of Koreatown
Colorado
• Colorado Sun: Wednesday Colorado fires update
• CPR: communities cancel July 4 fireworks
Connecticut
• Governor Lamont: Extreme Hot Weather Protocol activated through Sunday
Delaware
• Delaware.gov: NWS issues Extreme Heat Warning for all of Delaware
Florida
• Florida Forest Service: current wildfire information
Georgia
• Cobb County Courier: heat advisory with heat index near 107
• CBS Atlanta: severe thunderstorm warnings in north Georgia
Illinois
• CBS Chicago: Extreme Heat Warning and city cooling areas
• Cook County: 24 hour cooling centers
Indiana
• WBIW: Extreme Heat Warning upgraded for central Indiana
• WTHR: Indianapolis cooling sites and Indiana 211 locations
Iowa
• KEYC: strong to severe storms and flash flooding overnight
Kansas
• NWS Wichita: Extreme Heat Warning and Heat Advisory
Kentucky
• WHAS11: Louisville heat advisory
Maine
• Bangor Daily News: extreme heat warning and watch for Maine
• Maine Public: cooling centers open ahead of dangerous heat
Maryland
• The Daily Record: US declares grid emergency for power serving Maryland
Massachusetts
• City of Boston: Excessive Heat Warning July 1 through July 3
Michigan
• CBS Detroit: heat wave over southeast Michigan
• Detroit News: Detroit cooling hours extended, Warren outage
Minnesota
• KEYC: severe storms and tornado potential across southern Minnesota
• NWS Twin Cities: storm reports
Missouri
• City of St. Louis: boil water advisory lifted
• ABC17: Extreme Heat Warning until July 3 from NWS St. Louis
New Jersey
• NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly: current hazards briefing
New Mexico
• Los Alamos Reporter: McCauley Springs Fire update, July 1
New York
• NYC Mayor’s Office: emergency heat measures expanded
• WRVO: Extreme Heat Warning for much of New York
Oregon
• Central Oregon Fire Info: July 4 caution and fireworks ban on federal lands
Utah
• NPS Canyonlands: Needles District closure
Washington
• Washington State Patrol: state fire mobilization authorized for the Lambdin Fire
• Walla Walla Union-Bulletin: Lambdin Fire grows to 12,776 acres, 25 percent contained
Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
• Guam Homeland Security: Tropical Storm 09W public advisory, July 2
• CNMI Governor’s Office: Super Typhoon Sinlaku recovery update
