The Muldoon wildfire began August 16th and burned 374 acres of timber about 20 miles southwest of Mackay. It was fully contained by August 25th and threatened no structures.
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.
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 Muldoon wildfire began August 16th and burned 374 acres of timber about 20 miles southwest of Mackay. It was fully contained by August 25th and threatened no structures. Cause was unknown.
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 16, 1:54 AM MST, 6 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 254 AM MDT Sun Aug 16 2020 ...LONG DURATION HEAT WAVE BEGINS TODAY... .DISCUSSION...TODAY THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY... There have been no significant changes noted in guidance this AM regarding our synoptic scenario over the next week or our expectations for hot temps. Our long-advertised, long-duration heat wave will arrive today, courtesy of a nearly stationary ridge of high pressure setting up just to our south, with Mon still looking the warmest. Forecast confidence remains high. A HEAT ADVISORY remains in effect from this afternoon through Tue eve for most lower elevation areas of the CWA. The ern Magic Valley may flirt with Excessive Heat Warning criteria, particularly for isolated areas that see temps hold in the 65-70 degree range during the overnight periods, but for most areas the advisory still appears to be a good fit and lines up well with messaging from the NWS Boise and Elko offices. If the high temp OR low temp forecasts trend higher, we will consider an upgrade. Remember, heat stress on the human body is cumulative, and that will definitely be a factor at play this week with multiple days approaching/exceeding 100 degrees at lower elevations and then continued 90+ degree wx into the foreseeable future as that ridge remains in place. Monsoon moisture wrapping around the high will gradually increase this week, with the best push still expected Tue and Wed. This will take the edge off critically low RH values (as well as temps) and may produce a few isolated t-storms across the Central Mntns/MT border region this afternoon/eve and Mon afternoon/eve, expanding to most of our mntn ranges for each afternoon/eve from Tue onward through the week. T- storms will bear threats of lightning and gusty winds. PWATs increasing to over 0.80" from Tue onward suggest that initially dry storms will become increasingly capable of heavy downpours as the monsoon moisture increases and the week carries on. That said, do not expect significant relief from the ongoing hot/dry conditions for most areas across SE Idaho. - KSmith && .AVIATION... VFR weather is expected today. We can't rule out isolated storms near SUN, which warrants VCTS at this time. Gusty winds would be the impact from any storm in that area. - Keyes && .FIRE WEATHER... Hot weather will continue for the next several days across central and eastern Idaho. For today into part of Tuesday, humidity values will remain low...including very poor night-time recovery within mountain thermal belts. Also, we will begin to see a gradual influx of monsoon moisture. That also means for today and Monday, isolated thunderstorms across the central mountains and along the Montana border. There is a very small chance storms could form elsewhere due to outflow or terrain. Speaking of outflow, that is what we can expect from storms during this period...little wetting rains and gusty winds. The chance of wetting rain increases on Tuesday and Wednesday, which coincides with the more "widespread chance" of showers and thunderstorms. Most of the storms will be across the central mountains and Zone 411, but more isolated activity is possible elsewhere. This MAY also be our next Red Flag event due to the coverage of storms. Confidence is not high enough right now, plus we are still a ways out to jump into issuing a headline. Beyond that, the ridge remains in place to keep things on the hot side. However, there is likely just enough influx of monsoon moisture to keep a few showers and storms going each day. - Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Heat Advisory from noon today to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for IDZ051>059- 068-070-075. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Muldoon wildfire began August 16th and burned 374 acres of timber about 20 miles southwest of Mackay. It was fully contained by August 25th and threatened no structures. Cause was unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, August 2020
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: 916482.