Two pilots killed on the Dome fire; Hawaii flood watch

THE EMN NEWS DAILY BRIEF | Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Two pilots were killed Sunday when a helicopter under contract to the Forest Service crashed on the Dome fire in Yosemite National Park. The national preparedness level dropped to 2 with 92 incidents, 31 uncontained large fires and 9,701 personnel, down 588 in a day. A flood watch runs from this afternoon through Saturday afternoon for Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe and Hawaii Island as the remnants of Tropical Depression Fifteen-E organize southeast of the state; the next central Pacific name is Nolo. Hurricane Polo is a Category 4 off southwestern Mexico with 150-mile-per-hour winds and outer rainbands reaching the coast. The Southern Area reported 43 new fires and one new large incident near Bastrop, Louisiana. Two to five inches of rain is forecast today across New Mexico and eastern Arizona. The EMN NEWS Daily Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Yosemite: The situation report opened with notice that both pilots aboard a Forest Service contract helicopter were fatally injured in an accident on the Dome fire on September 20. The fire grew from 373 acres to 3,420, remains 15 percent contained, and personnel rose by 203 to 784, with a California team assigned.

Hawaii watch: The National Weather Service flood watch covers Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe and Hawaii Island from Wednesday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. Forecast totals vary widely by outlet, with the Fox Forecast Center putting localized amounts on the eastern Big Island at 12 to 18 inches and gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour on a close approach. The system is still a remnant low, and the track will not settle until it closes off.

Hurricane Polo: The 1200 UTC intermediate advisory put Polo at 150 miles per hour and 922 millibars, drifting north at 2 miles per hour about 165 miles off Zihuatanejo. Winds peaked near 180 miles per hour Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds 105 miles. The core is forecast to stay offshore while turning northwest.

Wildfire posture: National Preparedness Level 2, down from 3, with 92 incidents, 31 uncontained large fires, 1,923,544 acres and 9,701 personnel, a drop of 588, per the Tuesday situation report. Six complex incident management teams remain committed, down from nine on Saturday. Year to date, the country is at 56,794 fires and 8,554,955 acres, 125 and 146 percent of th