Lightning began an 800 acre fire 23 miles southwest of Pocatello on July 11th. The fire grew to 8000 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.
Lightning began an 800 acre fire 23 miles southwest of Pocatello on July 11th. The fire grew to 8000 acres before being contained. Power County officials closed Knox and Big Canyon Roads on July 12th to keep traffic away from the flames. No structures were damaged.
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 Jul 11, 12:31 PM MST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 131 PM MDT WED JUL 11 2012 .DISCUSSION...MAIN AREA OF CONVECTION HAS MOVED INTO WY THIS AFTN... HOWEVER...MONSOON MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE FCST AREA. ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED TSTMS CAN STILL BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...DIMINISHING THIS EVENING. VERY LITTLE RAINFALL WITH THEE TSTMS...BUT QUITE A BIT OF LIGHTNING STRIKES. SEVERAL FIRE STARTS SO FAR...WITH TWO VISIBLE FROM THE OFFICE. MONSOON MOISTURE WILL BE DISPLACED TO THE EAST AND SOUTH OF THE AREA ON THU...SO ONLY LOOKING FOR ISOLD MOUNTAIN TSTMS THU AFTERNOON. BY FRI...MONSOON MOISTURE MOVES BACK IN FROM THE SOUTH. TSTMS WILL AGAIN DEVELOP BY LATE FRI MORNING...AND BECOME MORE NUMEROUS THRU THE AFTERNOON. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE THRU SUNDAY. BY MON...THE NORTHERN STREAM UPPER LOW DROPS INTO WA. THE NORTHERN STREAM FLOW WILL RESULT IN LESS MOISTURE AND MORE MODERATE TEMPS. ONLY EXPECTING ISOLD MAINLY MTN TSTMS THRU WED. HEDGES && .AVIATION...CONVECTIVE THREAT CONTINUES THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. AIRMASS SUPPORTS MIXED DRY/WET STORMS WITH POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS TO ROUGHLY 45KTS. WEAK SHORTWAVE ROTATING NORTHEAST FROM SOUTHEAST OREGON MAY SPARK THUNDERSTORMS BY MID MORNING OVER CENTRAL MTNS INCLUDING KSUN BUT GREATEST THREAT WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON. AS WITH PREVIOUS DAYS...CONVECTION APPEARS TO DROP OFF AFTER SUNSET. THURSDAY WILL SEE MOSTLY SUNNY AND VFR CONDITIONS AT AREA AIRPORTS WITH ISOLATED MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS. DMH/PRESTON && .FIRE WEATHER...RED FLAG WARNING TO REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH 9 PM THIS EVENING DUE TO THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE DISTRICT. THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOPED AND MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE WINDS HAVE BEEN MORE EASTERLY THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED BUT SWITCH AROUND TO SOUTHWEST PRIOR TO THUNDERSTORMS...THUS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR TO INFLUENCE FIRE FIGHTING. GUSTY WINDS NEAR THUNDERSTORMS MAY REACH UP TO 45 MPH. DUE TO SWIFT NORTHEAST MOVEMENT OF STORMS AND DRY SURFACE RH...VERY LITTLE RAINFALL REACHING THE GROUND. THURSDAY APPEARS SIMILAR AGAIN WITH RESPECT TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE DISTRICT BUT TRENDING MORE ISOLATED AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS. A COUPLE FEATURES OF INTEREST MAY MAKE FOR A MORE INTERESTING END OF THE WEEK/WEEKEND. PAIR OF UPPER LOWS BEGINNING TO INCREASE MOISTURE SURGE THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN FOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SOUTHERN LOW OFF BAJA CALIFORNIA ALREADY SURGING MOISTURE NORTH THROUGH ARIZONA PER SAT IMAGERY WHILE NORTHERN LOW APPROACHES COAST AND IS PROGGED TO FURTHER DEEPEN SOUTHERLY REACH. MOISTURE SURGES INTO IDAHO FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FOR INCREASED COVERAGE OF STORMS ALONG WITH BREAKDOWN OF UPPER RIDGE AS NORTHERN LOW EXERTS INFLUENCE ACROSS THE REGION. AT THIS POINT...EXPECT RED FLAG CONDITIONS EACH DAY SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE DISTRICT PENDING BEST CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. DMH/PRESTON && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING BELOW 6000 FEET FOR THE IDZ413-476. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING IDZ409-410. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING BELOW 5500 FEET FOR THE IDZ412. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING BELOW 6500 FEET FOR THE IDZ477. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 402 AM MDT WED JUL 11 2012 IDZ017>025-031-032-121015- 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- 402 AM MDT WED JUL 11 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY OVER MOST OF EASTERN IDAHO. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS. HIGHER THAN NORMAL DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE WITH HIGHS APPROACHING 100 DEGREES IN THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ALMOST EVERY DAY WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THURSDAY. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TOR PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS...ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN...INTO AT LEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES NEAR 100 DEGREES. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE SOMEWHAT OVER THE WEEKEND WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER. .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.
Lightning began an 800 acre fire 23 miles southwest of Pocatello on July 11th. The fire grew to 8000 acres before being contained. Power County officials closed Knox and Big Canyon Roads on July 12th to keep traffic away from the flames. No structures were damaged.
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, July 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: 405251.