Wildfire in Central Panhandle Mountains, Idaho

The Surprise Creek Wildfire in a remote portion of Shoshone County is believed to have been caused by lightning on July 27th. It grew and eventually burned 3300 acres of timber in a wilderness area. No structures were threatened or lost. The cost of firefighting resources to contain the blaze was calculated at 1.3 million dollars.

Dry conditions over north Idaho during July and August created dry fuel conditions across the region. Lightning from occasional thunderstorms moving through the region most notably during the last week of July, caused a number of wildfires some of which grew large and long lasting requiring considerable state and federal resources to contain. These large fires were in unpopulated forest land with no structures or homes lost. Smoke from these fires and fires in surrounding states and provinces often severely degraded air quality across eastern Washington and north Idaho during the month of August.