Wildfire in Idaho, August 18 to 24, 2001

Name: Wildfire in Idaho, August 18 to 24, 2001
Start: 2001-08-18T00:00
End: 2001-08-24T00:00
Location: Idaho

August 18 to 24, 2001 · NWS PIH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Several wildfires occurred in southeastern Idaho in August. None were reported to have damaged any structures or homes.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.

Several wildfires occurred in southeastern Idaho in August. None were reported to have damaged any structures or homes. Some of the most significant ones were the Alpine 2 fire which burned 475 acres of heavy timber and land near Palisades Reservoir. The fire did get as close to 3/4 of a mile to a cabin near the reservoir but it was able to be saved. This fire burned for a week until it was finally contained on August 24th. Another large fire burned close to 2,500 acres of sage and juniper about 10 miles southwest of Malad on August 15th. Again no structures were threatened by this fire. Another fire on August 14th burned 650 acres in the Tilden Flats area northwest of Blackfoot.. All of these fires were caused by lightning strikes it was believed. Another 200 acre fire was caused by lightning strikes 5 miles north of Springfield on August 20th and was contained by August 21st with one structure threatened but was able to be saved.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 17, 7:50 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 7:50 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes before

SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
850 PM MDT FRI AUG 17 2001

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SWRLY FLOW ALOFT PUSHING A LAYER OF HIGH
CLOUDS INTO ID.  WILL UPDATE ZONES FOR CLOUD COVER AS WELL AS REMOVE
ISOLATED SHRA FOR ZONES 19 AND 20...FROM PREVIOUS UPDATE.

BRONG

BYI 54/93/53/86 0000

.KSFX WSR-88D...OPERATIONAL...VCP 32.

PIH BU 047/093 051/086 047 03000

.PIH...NONE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Bonneville

When: August 18, 12:00 AM MST to August 24, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Bonneville County, 5 mi S of Palisades
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.388, -111.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, August 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5265701.