Wildfire in Idaho, August 1 to 31, 2007

Name: Wildfire in Idaho, August 1 to 31, 2007
Start: 2007-08-01T00:00
End: 2007-08-31T00:00
Location: Idaho

August 1 to 31, 2007 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Hot and dry conditions which started in July, persisted into August with dry lightning events triggering numerous wild fires in north central Idaho.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 MSO wrote it up.

Hot and dry conditions which started in July, persisted into August with dry lightning events triggering numerous wild fires in north central Idaho.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 6:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 6:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
830 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2007

.UPDATE...HAVE UPDATED DEW POINT AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY FORECASTS
FOR TONIGHT BASED ON CURRENT OBSERVATIONS. MINOR ADJUSTMENTS WERE
MADE FOR WIND AND SKY COVER FOR THIS EVENING AS WELL BASED ON
CURRENT CONDITIONS. NO OTHER UPDATES EXPECTED THIS EVENING.

&&

.AVIATION...AREAS OF SMOKE WILL LOWER VISIBILITIES OVER PORTIONS
OF CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
PLEASE SEE APPROPRIATE TAFS AND TWEBS.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 251 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2007/

DISCUSSION...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.  FIRE WEATHER CONTINUES TO
MAKE A SIGNIFICANT MARK...SEE DISCUSSION BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL
INFO. HIGH PRESSURE WILL ONCE AGAIN BUILD OVER THE REGION
WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY WITH RISING AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES. SMOKE
WILL AGAIN BE ON THE INCREASE IN THE VICINITY OF NEARBY FIRES.
RELATIVELY STABLE VALLEY CONDITIONS SHOULD TRAP SMOKE DURING THE
NIGHTS AND MORNINGS. HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN
SHIFTING NORTHWARD OVER THE REGION LATE THURSDAY. HOWEVER...DUE TO
VERY DRY LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...CONVECTION IS LIKELY TO
REMAIN VERY ISOLATED...HIGH BASED/DRY...AND MOSTLY CONFINED TO THE
CLEARWATERS AND LEMHI COUNTY.

THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...CONFIDENCE IS VERY LOW IN THE
MODELS...LITTLE OR NO RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. WILL MAKE FEW
CHANGES TO THE CURRENT FORECAST...STILL LOOKS LIKE A TROUGH WILL
MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND INTO WESTERN MONTANA DURING
THIS TIME. THE UNCERTAINTY COMES WITH WHERE AND WHEN THE LOW
MOVES. WILL KEEP THE COOLING TREND AND THE SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS
ONLY SLOW THEM DOWN A LITTLE.

FIRE WEATHER...FIRE WEATHER CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF THE MAIN
WEATHER ISSUES. MODERATE WESTERLY WINDS WILL QUICKLY DIMINISH THIS
EVENING AS THE ATMOSPHERE STABILIZES. HIGH PRESSURE WILL PRODUCE
ADDITIONAL WARMING AND EXTREMELY DRY SURFACE CONDITIONS WEDNESDAY
INTO THURSDAY. AS THE ATMOSPHERE FURTHER WARMS...THE INSTABILITY
WILL INCREASE AND THE POTENTIAL FOR PLUME DOMINATED FIRES WILL
INCREASE LATE WEDNESDAY AND ESPECIALLY THURSDAY. HIGH LEVEL
MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SHIFTING OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL
IDAHO AND MAINLY SOUTHWEST MONTANA THURSDAY...BUT LIKELY NOT
ENOUGH MOISTURE TO SUPPORT SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION THURSDAY.

&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...NONE.
ID...NONE.
&&

UPDATE/AVIATION...STEGEMILLER
PREVIOUS...BAUCK/KOLATA

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, Southern Clearwater Mountains

When: August 1, 12:00 AM PST to August 31, 12:00 AM PST
Where: Southern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service
Coordinates: 45.844, -115.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dry lightning triggered numerous wild fires in Idaho County in August. 115,937 acres burned. The Boundary Junction Fire near the Clearwater County border north of Highway 12, destroyed one Out Building with 4671 acres burned. The largest wild fire, the Rattlesnake near Dixie burned 76,112 acres with three Out Buildings destoyed.

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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, August 2007

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: 54099.