Good morning.

I'm Cedric and This is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, March 18, 2026 starting with a national snapshot.

Wildfire Response Plains, Nebraska's Incident Team reports Cottonwood Fire at 131,259 acres 40% contained and Morrell Fire at 572,084 acres 18% contained as of the March 17 morning update.

A red flag warning and strong winds forecast approximately 50 miles per hour are cited as key operational constraints with aircraft likely grounded and a temporary flight restriction in place over the fires.

Federal Fire Assistance Texas and Nebraska FEMA postings within the last 24 hours show fire management assistance activity for the Texas Corner Pocket Fire FM5625 Texas and the Nebraska Morrill Cottonwood Fire FM5623, Nebraska with incident periods and declaration dates listed on FEMA Disaster pages and the declarations listing Public Health Potable water Marion County, Florida issues a precautionary boil water notice for specific addresses on SUSY441 due to a water main break posted March 17 8:46pm official update published 48 hours ago.

CISA posts an alert adding one vulnerability to the known exploited vulnerabilities, KEV Catalog signaling, active exploitation and associated remediation timelines for federal agencies and downstream partners.

Let's run through the states.

Florida Marion County Utilities posts a precautionary boilwater notice effective 3172026 for 1420-014330-14000 4004-400-1441 Spruce Creek communities area due to a water main break Nebraska NEMA's March 17 operational update reports Cottonwood Fire 131,259 acres 40% contained and Morrell Fire 572,084 acres 18% contained with red flag conditions and high winds expected to increase fire activity and potentially ground aircraft.

A TFR remains in place over the incidents.

FEMA's disaster posting within the last 24 hours reflects the Morrill Cottonwood Fire under Federal Fire assistance mechanisms.

Texas FEMA's postings within the last 24 hours include the Texas Corner Pocket Fire under Fire Management Assistance with incident period and declaration date listed on FEMA Disaster Declarations pages.

All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.

That's your EM morning brief for Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

Stay safe.