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Moose Creek 1 Fire, July 2017 Idaho

Out · last detection 13 Sept 2017, 21:26 UTC

The fire started on 14 July 2017 in Idaho, United States, and satellites saw it burning for 62 days. United States agencies (MTBS / NIFC) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 8,598 hectares, spread across a single county.

It is the 41th largest in Idaho since 2016 (of 379 with a page). Number 95 in United States in 2017, of 619.

Compare with…
Burnt area
8,598ha
official perimeter (MTBS / NIFC)
Duration
≈ 62days
14 Jul 2017 – 13 Sept 2017
Counties hit
1
counties
Started on
14 Jul
2017
Heat detections
2,368
in a single hotspot: 374 MW
Danger at start
39
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
260MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 14 Jul13 Sept
13 Sept 2017

How it evolved, day by day

16 Jul 2017 · 47 MW · 5 17 Jul 2017 · 327 MW · 18 18 Jul 2017 · 138 MW · 22 19 Jul 2017 · 90 MW · 22 20 Jul 2017 · 93 MW · 20 21 Jul 2017 · 41 MW · 15 22 Jul 2017 · 181 MW · 42 23 Jul 2017 · 243 MW · 27 24 Jul 2017 · 70 MW · 15 25 Jul 2017 · 35 MW · 10 26 Jul 2017 · 12 MW · 11 28 Jul 2017 · 4 MW · 3 29 Jul 2017 · 15 MW · 2 30 Jul 2017 · 7 MW · 3 31 Jul 2017 · 71 MW · 30 1 Aug 2017 · 663 MW · 69 2 Aug 2017 · 199 MW · 57 3 Aug 2017 · 60 MW · 22 4 Aug 2017 · 339 MW · 41 5 Aug 2017 · 72 MW · 43 6 Aug 2017 · 109 MW · 26 7 Aug 2017 · 576 MW · 53 8 Aug 2017 · 111 MW · 36 9 Aug 2017 · 92 MW · 27 10 Aug 2017 · 100 MW · 25 11 Aug 2017 · 214 MW · 36 12 Aug 2017 · 37 MW · 12 13 Aug 2017 · 98 MW · 31 15 Aug 2017 · 187 MW · 22 16 Aug 2017 · 250 MW · 53 17 Aug 2017 · 1,195 MW · 135 18 Aug 2017 · 1,413 MW · 128 19 Aug 2017 · 861 MW · 111 20 Aug 2017 · 175 MW · 83 21 Aug 2017 · 86 MW · 54 22 Aug 2017 · 222 MW · 48 23 Aug 2017 · 123 MW · 69 25 Aug 2017 · 2 MW · 1 26 Aug 2017 · 4 MW · 4 27 Aug 2017 · 40 MW · 15 28 Aug 2017 · 180 MW · 46 29 Aug 2017 · 886 MW · 29 30 Aug 2017 · 344 MW · 65 31 Aug 2017 · 501 MW · 51 1 Sept 2017 · 138 MW · 38 2 Sept 2017 · 774 MW · 64 3 Sept 2017 · 1,055 MW · 112 4 Sept 2017 · 824 MW · 125 5 Sept 2017 · 181 MW · 87 6 Sept 2017 · 248 MW · 64 7 Sept 2017 · 341 MW · 68 8 Sept 2017 · 41 MW · 9 9 Sept 2017 · 173 MW · 35 10 Sept 2017 · 86 MW · 36 11 Sept 2017 · 64 MW · 26 12 Sept 2017 · 316 MW · 55 13 Sept 2017 · 39 MW · 12
16 Jul 29 Jul 18 Aug 5 Sept

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

36°high
55km/h · peak gust
5%lowest humidity

It had gone 3 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 3.6 mm on 14 Sept.

This area had burned before

No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 5.4% of the area of London (86 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each county

  1. Idaho where it started
    8,606 ha reached on 16 Jul
    0.4 %

Burnt area inside each county, from crossing the official perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2015
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2015, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
14 Jul 36.0 °C 16 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
15 Jul 33.0 °C 22 % 45 km/h 1.5 mm Very high 40
16 Jul 26.3 °C 21 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
17 Jul 27.9 °C 15 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
18 Jul 30.5 °C 16 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
19 Jul 32.1 °C 17 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
20 Jul 28.3 °C 24 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
21 Jul 28.3 °C 13 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
22 Jul 30.5 °C 20 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
23 Jul 33.1 °C 18 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
24 Jul 30.9 °C 15 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
25 Jul 31.8 °C 7 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
26 Jul 32.8 °C 12 % 40 km/h 0.1 mm Extreme 54
27 Jul 30.1 °C 25 % 40 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 46
28 Jul 32.6 °C 18 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
29 Jul 33.9 °C 14 % 43 km/h 0.2 mm Extreme 51
30 Jul 32.9 °C 12 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
31 Jul 33.6 °C 7 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
1 Aug 33.0 °C 9 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
2 Aug 33.4 °C 13 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
3 Aug 34.1 °C 14 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
4 Aug 32.4 °C 17 % 54 km/h 0.2 mm Extreme 58
5 Aug 29.4 °C 17 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
6 Aug 30.9 °C 14 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
7 Aug 32.1 °C 10 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
8 Aug 30.9 °C 16 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
9 Aug 30.0 °C 16 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
10 Aug 31.5 °C 15 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
11 Aug 32.8 °C 11 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
12 Aug 32.2 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 44
13 Aug 22.3 °C 29 % 40 km/h 4.2 mm Very low 3
14 Aug 23.1 °C 34 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
15 Aug 27.2 °C 15 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
16 Aug 27.5 °C 19 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
17 Aug 27.9 °C 22 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
18 Aug 30.0 °C 14 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
19 Aug 24.9 °C 23 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
20 Aug 25.0 °C 19 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
21 Aug 29.6 °C 16 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
22 Aug 32.0 °C 11 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
23 Aug 30.8 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
24 Aug 26.8 °C 27 % 52 km/h 0.4 mm Very high 44
25 Aug 27.5 °C 19 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
26 Aug 30.5 °C 10 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
27 Aug 33.2 °C 5 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
28 Aug 31.4 °C 15 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
29 Aug 34.4 °C 6 % 31 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 49
30 Aug 30.5 °C 13 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
31 Aug 28.0 °C 18 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
1 Sept 30.6 °C 16 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
2 Sept 34.3 °C 9 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
3 Sept 34.3 °C 8 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
4 Sept 30.9 °C 14 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
5 Sept 30.9 °C 11 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
6 Sept 31.3 °C 12 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
7 Sept 33.6 °C 10 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
8 Sept 30.2 °C 19 % 42 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 49
9 Sept 29.1 °C 29 % 52 km/h 0.4 mm Very high 47
10 Sept 25.8 °C 32 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
11 Sept 31.4 °C 8 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
12 Sept 29.5 °C 19 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
13 Sept 24.0 °C 30 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
14 Sept after 18.3 °C 26 % 42 km/h 3.6 mm High 34

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 38.8, a minimum humidity of 16% and 3 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 15.

FWI at the start 38.8
Minimum humidity 16 %
Days without rain 3
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Lynx Fire, July 2021
5,588 ha 84 days FWI 38.7 Min. humidity 16 % 33 km away, in 2021

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 5.4 mm on 10 Oct.

What happened to them

26 days
median duration
3,277 ha
median area
20 %
went past 10,000 ha
3.0 mm
rain at the end (median; 13 of 15 had it)

It was 2.6 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 62 days, against 26 days.

Only 4 of its 15 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 2 of 15, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.0 mm.

This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it

How it ended

3.6 mmfirst rain
14 Septthe day after it ended
55km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 13 Sept, and on 14 Sept 3.6 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 13 of 15, with a median of 3.0 mm.

Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

How a twin is chosen

  • Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
  • Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
  • Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
  • Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
  • They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 7 Jul 2017
After · 20 Sept 2017

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

Detections table · 2,368Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in United States

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Moose Creek 1 Fire last?
The official perimeter only gives the start date (14 July 2017). The end comes from the heat detections inside the perimeter: it burned until 13 September 2017 (62 days from 14 July 2017), the last day with detections before more than 10 days in a row without any, so it is approximate.
How much area did it burn?
The official perimeter published by United States agencies (MTBS / NIFC) is 8,598 hectares (86.0 km²). Other tallies, such as daily incident reports, may give slightly different figures.
Which counties burned?
The fire only entered Idaho (8,606 ha, 0.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 36.0 °C, humidity dropped to 5 % and gusts hit 55 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 64, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the official burnt perimeter of United States agencies (MTBS / NIFC, public domain), NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of United States. It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 15. Their median duration was 26 days and their median area 3,277 ha; 20 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 4 of its 15 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 2 of 15, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.0 mm.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 911 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 911.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: MTBS (US Geological Survey and US Forest Service), official.
  • The official perimeter has no end date: the end is the last day with VIIRS detections inside the perimeter before a gap of more than 10 days (150 days at most), so it is approximate. 2,368 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2015, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology

Where this data comes from

The perimeter is official and in the public domain. For past years it comes from MTBS (Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity), run by the U.S. Geological Survey and the USDA Forest Service, which map it on Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery. For the current and last year it comes from WFIGS at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC): incident perimeters mapped by fire crews, aircraft and imagery. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. County boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM2 (Public Domain). The area per county is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from official figures.