Wildfires of 2013

Elk Complex

2013Elmore County, IdahoWildfire

The Elk Complex burned 129,730 acres in Elmore County, Idaho, in 2013. It was discovered on August 8, 2013, and contained on August 9, 2013. MTBS dates its ignition to August 9, 2013. The cause was recorded as natural.

Size
129,730 acres
Discovered
August 8, 2013
Contained
August 9, 2013
Cause
Natural

Map

The burned area boundary MTBS mapped from Landsat imagery, 129,508 acres. Point of origin as reported, 43.340, -115.500.

The record

Reported final size
129,730 acres
Burned area mapped by MTBS
129,508 acres
Area inside the final perimeter
130,960 acres
Discovered
August 8, 2013, 11:14 p.m. local time
Ignition (MTBS)
August 9, 2013
Contained
August 9, 2013, 9:00 a.m. local time
Cause
Natural
State
Idaho
County
Elmore County
Land ownership at origin
Forest Service
Reporting unit
Boise National Forest
Agency
Forest Service
Unit
IDBOF
Part of
Elk Complex
Other fire reports inside the burned area
Pierce
Incident type
Wildfire
Unique fire identifier
2013-IDBOF-001040
MTBS fire identifier
ID4334011550020130809
MTBS assessment
Initial
Fire occurrence record
FS-1514685
Perimeter records
2 on file for this fire; the largest is shown
Note on the perimeter
Village is main fire of the ELK COMPLEX. Because there was no actual Elk Fire all the acres for the Elk Complex have been added to this fire. Pierce Fire also part of this perimeter

The three sizes are three measurements: the size the agency reported when the fire was out, the burned area MTBS drew from satellite imagery before and after, and the GIS area inside the final perimeter, unburned islands included. They rarely agree exactly.

Other large fires in Idaho in 201312

FireAcresStartCause
Pony Complex135,231Aug 8, 2013Natural
Beaver Creek Fire111,497Aug 7, 2013Natural
Little Queens Fire23,406Aug 17, 2013Human
Mccan Fire23,389Aug 7, 2013Natural
Lodgepole Fire22,825Jul 20, 2013Natural
Raft Fire20,395Aug 29, 2013Natural
Kelley Fire17,349Aug 24, 2013Natural
Jim Brown Fire14,404Jul 1, 2013Natural
Thunder City Fire13,263Jul 19, 2013Natural
Southeast Red Bridge Fire9,499Jul 31, 2013Natural
Papoose Fire9,493Jul 8, 2013Natural
Hells Canyon Fire9,062Aug 29, 2013Natural

Every fire of 2013 Idaho fire history

Nearby

Sources

Perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Interagency Fire Perimeter History, compiled from the Forest Service, BLM, BIA, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, the Alaska Interagency Fire Center and CAL FIRE. Burned areas and ignition dates from Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS), a program of the US Geological Survey and the USDA Forest Service. Fire reports from Short, Karen C. 2022, Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014], 6th Edition, Forest Service Research Data Archive, doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6. Records before 2014 were joined by this site: a fire report to the burned area its MTBS identifier names, a perimeter to the burned area it lies in when the names or the sizes agree.