Lightning began the Ibex wildfire on July 24th and the fire burned for multiple months. It was located 11 miles west of Twin Peaks Lookout.
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 the Ibex wildfire on July 24th and the fire burned for multiple months. It was located 11 miles west of Twin Peaks Lookout. A patrol flight on the 25th estimated the size of that fire at 540 acres. One helicopter and 10 firefighters are assigned to the Ibex fire. The fire was in high mountains and threatened no structures.
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 24, 12:38 PM MST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 138 PM MDT Mon Jul 24 2017 .SHORT TERM...Convective temperatures have been reached over many portions of central and eastern Idaho initiating rapid expansion of thunderstorms this afternoon. Low pressure off the coast of California is pushing a series of weather impulses through our area through Thursday. Abundant moisture with precipitable water amounts up to 1.00 inch will assist in locally heavy rainfall with some of the thunderstorms. Expect gusty outflow winds as the main impact concern with the thunderstorms through Thursday although cannot rule out some small hail. Increasing cloud cover Tuesday and Wednesday will reduce daytime highs some 10 degrees but keep overnight lows warmer. Thus with increased moisture, muggy conditions expected. .LONG TERM...Friday through next Monday...the ridge of high pressure begins to build again with temperatures warming back into the 90s region-wide. There is a chance for an isolated thunderstorm across the central Idaho mountains each day - with forecast models showing a monsoon push next Monday. Timing though is still a concern so will only increase chances marginally. VP && .AVIATION...Monsoon moisture flowing into Idaho through Thursday will result in scattered daily thunderstorm chances with gusty outflow winds and small hail. Expect VFR conditions over most flight areas except in and near convective activity. VP && .FIRE WEATHER...Monsoon moisture will continue to pour into eastern Idaho through the middle of the week. Showers and storms, including overnight are forecast. The risk of gusty winds over 40mph will persist through the period especially in the afternoon and evening IF we can maximize instability. The risk of heavy rainfall increases after today as deeper moisture arrives, for a mix of wet and dry thunderstorms. We will have to keep an eye out on burn scars for any flooding/debris flow potential especially where stronger storms form and slow storm motion. Our current round of Red Flag Warnings across the central mountains (422 and 476), and the southern highlands/Magic Valley (425 and 427) will remain in effect. Storms have been a bit slow to develop and the morning model runs hinted at lower instability. That said, we should see storm coverage increase through sunset over the mountains. Scattered storms are expected in the areas where the warnings are in effect, with more isolated elsewhere. What develops over the Snake Plain is more dependent on outflow boundaries. Will we see Red Flag conditions Tuesday? Right now, that is very "conditional" or iffy based on the likelihood of more cloud cover through the day and more steady rain across the area. IF (we stress IF) we get good storms going, it would probably be over the central mountains and the highlands south of Burley. For the moment, we will not put out additional headlines for tomorrow based on lack of confidence in this scenario. For Wednesday, we may see a better chance of scattered storms over the mountains but we will need to watch trends over the next 24-36 hours to see if that comes to pass. We should see monsoon moisture thin out later this week, but the tradeoff is warmer and lower humidity conditions returning. Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ422-425-427- 476. &&
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning began the Ibex wildfire on July 24th and the fire burned for multiple months. It was located 11 miles west of Twin Peaks Lookout. A patrol flight on the 25th estimated the size of that fire at 540 acres. One helicopter and 10 firefighters are assigned to the Ibex fire. The fire was in high mountains and threatened no structures.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, July 2017
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: 716813.