The Connor Creek wildfire began at around noon on August 29th about 2 miles east of Elba. The fire grew to 2,000 acres before being contained.
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.
The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.
The Connor Creek wildfire began at around noon on August 29th about 2 miles east of Elba. The fire grew to 2,000 acres before being contained. Numerous primary residences were within 1 mile of the fire but none were lost.
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 29, 2:24 AM MST, 8 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 324 AM MDT WED AUG 29 2012 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. STRONG COLD FRONT HAS MOVED THROUGH THE STATE AND EXPECT WINDS TO INCREASE TODAY WITH EXTREMELY DRY AIR CONTINUING TO PERSIST OVER SOUTHEAST IDAHO. GENERALLY EXPECT 25 TO 40 MPH WIND GUSTS TODAY WITH MANY RED FLAG WARNINGS IN EFFECT. FLOW ALOFT AGAIN TURNS MORE SOUTHERLY THURSDAY BEHIND THE WEAK UPPER SYSTEM PASSING THROUGH TODAY. THIS WILL ALLOW MORE MOISTURE INTO THE REGION WITH A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER. EXPECT EVEN MORE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY FRIDAY AS A TROF MOVES ONTO THE PACIFIC COAST. TEMPERATURES WILL BE QUITE A BIT COOLER THROUGH FRIDAY BUT STILL ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS. GK .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES SATURDAY AS THE UPPER TROF FINALLY MOVES THROUGH WITH MONSOONAL MOISTURE STILL IN PLACE AHEAD OF THE TROF ON SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH DIFFERING IN DETAILS BOTH THE GFS AND EUROPEAN MODELS HAVE IT DRY SUNDAY THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY WITH THE EUROPEAN HAVING A STRONGER NORTHERLY COMPONENT TO THE FLOW ALOFT THAN THE GFS WITH THE GFS MORE OF A SPLIT FLOW PATTERN KEEPING MORE OF A SOUTHERLY INFLUENCE. BOTH KEEP IT DRY HOWEVER. KEPT PRECIPITATION CHANCES BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMALS BEGINNING SUNDAY. GK && .AIR STAGNATION...THERE WILL BE SOME WINDY CONDITIONS TODAY. THIS MAY AFFECT THE AIR STAGNATION AND THE MIGRATION OF SMOKE PLUMES. THESE FIRES MAY BECOME MORE ACTIVE TODAY SO PLUME SIZE MAY INCREASE. PLEASE READ THE AIR QUALITY ADVISORIES ISSUED BY THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. HERE IS THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT AIR STAGNATION. GK DUE TO SMOKE FROM THE HALSTEAD...MUSTANG AND TRINITY RIDGE FIRES...THE AIR QUALITY REMAINS UNHEALTHY IN CUSTER AND BLAINE COUNTIES OF IDAHO INCLUDING THE CITIES OF SUN VALLEY...STANLEY AND CHALLIS. THIS ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL AIR QUALITY HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED. THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SENSITIVE TO INCREASED PARTICULATE OR SMOKE LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO AVOID PROLONGED OR STRENUOUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITY. ALL OTHERS SHOULD LIMIT PROLONGED OR STRENUOUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITY. YOUR COOPERATION IS APPRECIATED. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TODAY. A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE REGION WILL PUSH WINDS ACROSS THE AREA INTO THE 15-20 KT RANGE MOST AREAS. SMOKE WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER VISIBILITY IN LOCATIONS WITHIN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. DMH && .FIRE WEATHER...SMALL DRY SYSTEM EJECTING ACROSS THE PANHANDLE TODAY WILL MAINTAIN BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS THROUGH MUCH OF EASTERN IDAHO. HUMIDITIES AND WINDS REMAIN WITHIN CRITICAL THRESHOLDS SO WILL CONTINUE ALL HEADLINES TODAY. HUMIDITIES WILL SHOW A SMALL INCREASE THURSDAY AS MOISTURE CREEPS NORTH FROM UTAH FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE DISTRICT. STORM COVERAGE SPREADS ACROSS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT ON FRIDAY FOR THE NEXT CRITICAL FIRE DAY. DMH && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING IDZ409>411-413. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING IDZ475>477. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 359 AM MDT WED AUG 29 2012 IDZ017>025-031-032-301000- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY-SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS-UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS- UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN-LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN- SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-CARIBOU HIGHLANDS- CACHE VALLEY/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION- BIG AND LITTLE WOOD RIVER REGION-LOST RIVER/PAHSIMEROI- 359 AM MDT WED AUG 29 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT HAS MOVED THROUGH SOUTHEAST IDAHO. EXPECT WINDS TO INCREASE TODAY AND RED FLAG WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED ACROSS THE REGION FOR WIND GUSTS AND LOW HUMIDITY. ONGOING FIRES SHOULD BECOME VERY ACTIVE TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY EXPECT A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WE ASK TRAINED SPOTTERS AND CITIZENS TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. THESE CONDITIONS MAY INCLUDE HAIL...TORNADOES...STRONG WIND...DUST STORMS...SNOWFALL... EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES...FREEZING RAIN OR HEAVY RAIN...DENSE FOG...AND FLOODING OR ICE JAMS. INFORMATION ABOUT THESE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CALLED INTO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN POCATELLO USING THE 1-800 SEVERE WEATHER HOTLINE...OR 208-233-0834.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Connor Creek wildfire began at around noon on August 29th about 2 miles east of Elba. The fire grew to 2,000 acres before being contained. Numerous primary residences were within 1 mile of the fire but none were lost.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, August 2012
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: 411124.