The Laidlaw fire began August 18th southeast of Carey due to lightning strikes and burned 39,000 acres in open land. It did start to spread into the Craters of the Moon National Monument but was slowed by rock formations.
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 Laidlaw fire began August 18th southeast of Carey due to lightning strikes and burned 39,000 acres in open land. It did start to spread into the Craters of the Moon National Monument but was slowed by rock formations. The fire was considered controlled by August 20th.
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 18, 1:19 PM MST, 41 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 219 PM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sunday. Tstms developing this aftn over the mtns in response to a weak upper trof over southeast ID. Some of these tstms may produce gusty winds...but not much rainfall. Tstms will diminish this eve as the upper trof moves out of the area and the airmass stabilizes. A push of Canadian air will push into MT this eve... then spill over the Divide by Fri morning. This will result in brisk northeast winds on Fri... especially in the upper Snake River Plain. The American Falls Reservoir is particularly sensitive to northeast winds...so a lake wind advisory has been issued for Fri. The cooler northwest flow aloft continues thru Sat...but the Great Basin upper high builds back up by Sun. This will push temps back up again. .LONG TERM...Monday through Thursday. The upper high over the Great Basin is pushed back down on Mon as a broad upper trof dominates the Pac NW. The northwesterly flow keeps the monsoon moisture to the south...so dry conditions are expected to continue thru Thursday. Hedges && .AVIATION...Expect Vicinity thunderstorms this afternoon into early evening for all taf sites with a moist and unstable atmosphere. KSUN and KIDA have best chance of seeing thunderstorms on station. Expect gusty winds of around 30 mph in and around thunderstorms. Tomorrow morning a dry cold front will bring gusty Northeast winds across the TAF sites...particularly KIDA...KPIH and to a lesser extent KBYI and KSUN. Wyatt && .FIRE WEATHER...Instability and moisture will allow for isolated to scattered thunderstorms this afternoon into early evening. A red flag is in effect for lightning for all areas except the Southern Sawtooths consisting of Western Lemhi and Custer counties and our Southwest areas consisting of Cassia County and the Eastern Magic valley where isolated thunderstorm coverage is expected instead. Thunderstorms are already occurring over the Southern Central mountains and Southern Pahsimeroi mountains. Thunderstorm outflows of around 30 mph can be expected in addition to lightning. Look for a dry cold front to sweep across the area tomorrow morning. Look for Northeast winds to move across the area with gusts of 30 to 40 mph especially for the Upper Snake river plain. The minimum relative humidity will likely stay above 15 percent except for the Upper Snake river plain where downslope winds will keep this area drier. A red flag warning may be needed for tomorrow for the Upper Snake river plain. Look for temperatures to drop today over yesterday and drop even more on Friday. Temperatures will rebound Saturday into Sunday as high pressure ridging builds back into the area. Monday look for winds to start to increase ahead of the next system that will graze our Northern areas on Tuesday. Tuesday look for moderate winds and low relative humidity across the area. A red flag warning will likely be needed Tuesday especially for our Northern areas. Wyatt && .PIH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Red Flag Warning until midnight MDT tonight for IDZ410-411-413- 422-476. Lake Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 9 PM MDT Friday for IDZ021. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 244 PM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 IDZ019-020-182130- UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN ID-UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS ID- 244 PM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 ...DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AFFECTING NORTHWESTERN TETON...NORTHEASTERN MADISON AND SOUTH CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTIES UNTIL 330 PM MDT... AT 244 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ASHTON RESERVOIR...MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MPH. DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... ASHTON...TETON...CHESTER...ASHTON RESERVOIR...ST ANTHONY... NEWDALE AND NORTHERN SAINT ANTHONY SAND DUNES. LAT...LON 4410 11175 4416 11150 4391 11130 4382 11165 TIME...MOT...LOC 2044Z 339DEG 13KT 4411 11161 HEDGES
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Laidlaw fire began August 18th southeast of Carey due to lightning strikes and burned 39,000 acres in open land. It did start to spread into the Craters of the Moon National Monument but was slowed by rock formations. The fire was considered controlled by August 20th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, August 2016
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: 658414.