Flash flood emergencies return to the Texas Hill Country as the state response tops 1,300 personnel; hazardous smoke blankets the Upper Midwest; NIFC update

Flash flood emergencies cover Kerr, Kendall, and Uvalde counties as the Guadalupe River surges and Governor Abbott expands the Texas disaster declaration to 59 counties with more than 1,300 personnel deployed. The Boundary Waters stays fully closed as 17 fires burn across the Superior National Forest, and hazardous smoke pushes air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York City. NIFC holds at Preparedness Level 4 with 48 uncontained large fires, CISA adds two exploited vulnerabilities to its KEV catalog, and WAPA works through outages and fuel constraints in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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

• Texas flooding: Flash flood emergencies hit Kerr and Kendall counties, the Guadalupe River rises more than 10 feet in an hour at Hunt, and the 59-county state disaster response includes more than 1,300 personnel, 800 vehicles, 75 boats, and 20 aircraft.

• National wildfire: NIFC remains at Preparedness Level 4 with 48 uncontained large fires and more than 16,800 personnel assigned; large fires are burning in all 10 geographic areas.

• Minnesota and smoke: The full Boundary Waters closure holds through at least Friday, Governor Walz extends the peacetime emergency 30 days, and hazardous air quality stretches from the Twin Cities across the Great Lakes to New York City.

• Extreme heat: Extreme heat warnings and advisories run from the Northern Plains into New England and the mid-Atlantic, with record highs possible in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.

• Cyber: CISA adds a KNX protocol flaw and an Oracle E-Business Suite vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; both are under active exploitation.

• Lifelines: Boil water notices are active in Greenbrier and Waldenburg (Arkansas), Bangor (Maine), and Westmoreland (Tennessee); DTE works an extended outage in northwest Detroit; WAPA manages outages and fuel supply constraints on St. Thomas and St. John.

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Sources

NIFC and Wildfire

• NIFC National Fire News: Preparedness Level 4, uncontained large fires, national statistics

CISA

• CISA: Adds two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to catalog (July 15, 2026)

Tropics

• National Hurricane Center: Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

Heat and National Weather

• Weather.com: Northeast, Midwest to sizzle under record-smashing heat dome

• U.S. News: States issue air quality warnings as wildfire smoke from Canada, Minnesota spreads

FEMA Declarations

• Federal Register: Kentucky major disaster amendment (FEMA-4913-DR)

• Federal Register via Justia: Mississippi major disaster declaration (FEMA-4922-DR)

Texas

• CBS Austin: Flash flood emergency declared for Kerrville area as catastrophic flooding prompts rescues

• Fox Weather: Flash flood emergencies issued for Kerr, Uvalde counties

• Fox San Antonio: Highway 39 closed in Kerr County, I-10 shut down after major crash

• CNN: Flash flood emergencies, dozens of rescues in southern Texas

• Office of the Texas Governor: Disaster declaration for Texas severe weather

• KKSA: Gov. Abbott expands disaster declaration to 59 counties

• KWTX: Abbott says flooding likely to break records as state deploys more than 1,300 personnel

• KFDM: Storms knock out power to thousands in Southeast Texas

• KENS 5: Thousands remain without power as storms continue across South Texas

Alaska

• Alaska Wildland Fire Information: Daily updates on fire status and evacuations

Arizona

• Yahoo News/AccuWeather: Flash flood warning issued for southern Arizona, including Biosphere 2

• Arizona’s Family: First Alert Day declared for monsoon storms, more rain on the way

Arkansas

• City of Greenbrier: System-wide boil order issued

• KAIT 8: Boil order issued for Waldenburg and surrounding areas after main break

California

• CAL FIRE: Summit Fire incident page

• ABC7: Summit Fire in Antelope Valley, evacuation orders in place

Colorado

• InciWeb: Willow Fire incident information

• 9NEWS: Willow Fire burns more than 6,400 acres near Leadville

Idaho

• KTVB: Claremont Fire reaches 61% containment, officials extend timeline

• Idaho News 6: Claremont Fire grows to 6,805 acres, containment expected Aug. 1

Maine

• Q106.5: Boil water notice in effect for Broadway, Essex, and dozens of Bangor neighborhoods

Michigan

• ClickOnDetroit: DTE underground cable failures cause extended outage in northwest Detroit

Minnesota

• Superior National Forest: Emergency expanded closure for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

• MPR News: Officials see NE Minnesota firefight continuing into the fall

• Minnesota News Network: Walz, Executive Council extend peacetime emergency

• FOX 9: Twin Cities air quality now considered hazardous

New York

• ABC News: Canadian wildfire smoke descends on parts of US, including New York City

Tennessee

• WSMV: Water main break triggers boil water notice, forces business closures in Sumner County city

Utah

• InciWeb: Cottonwood Fire incident information

Wisconsin

• Yahoo News: Air quality alerts issued across the Midwest and Northeast as wildfire smoke blankets the region

U.S. Virgin Islands

• St. Thomas Source: WAPA explains St. Thomas-St. John power outages and fuel supply