Alpha, Idaho
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Cascade census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83611. It stands on Skunk Creek. The Survey maps it on the Alpha quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 17 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1894 USGS Squaw Creek quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Smiths Ferry quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Baker quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Baker quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Weiser quadrangle1:100000
- 1985 USGS Alpha quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
115 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 115 fires within 5 miles of Alpha between 1992 and 2020, burning about 273 acres in total. 61 started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 61 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | FENCE |
| 8 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Boise District | ISLAND RANCH |
| 6 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Boise National Forest | SKUNK |
| 5 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | ROUND VALLEY |
| 3 September 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Boise National Forest | MARK WHITNEY |
| 3 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | HUCKLEBERRY 2 |
| 25 September 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | HERRICK RES |
| 25 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Idaho Timber Protective Association, Idaho Department of Lands | SIXTY LANE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Alpha: 2 unknowns, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Thorium, Geothermal, REE. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabarton Hot Springs | Geothermal | Occurrence | ||
| Corral Creek | Thorium, REE | Unknown | ||
| Clear Creek | Thorium | Unknown |
Storms near this place
3 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alpha in 3 storm reports between 2010 and 2024: 2 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 | Heavy Rain | Alpha | - | The mesonet station TT433 at the IRAWS 54 measured heavy rain from nearby thunderstorms. |
| March 2023 | Heavy Rain | Alpha | - | The mesonet station COZI1 1.0 mile southwest of Deadwood Reservoir measured 1.20 inches of heavy rain. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alpha | - | Boise Forest Service Dispatch reported wind damage near Deadwood Reservoir including downed trees and power lines at Silver Creek Campground. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabarton | 3.5 miles | 17 | |
| Belvidere | 6.0 miles | 17 | |
| Smiths Ferry | 7.6 miles | 16 | |
| Cascade | 8.8 miles | 13 | |
| High Valley | 13.9 miles | 16 | |
| Arling | 16.3 miles | 13 | |
| Williams Creek Summit Home Area | 16.8 miles | 16 | |
| MacGregor (historical) | 21.1 miles | 13 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 396033. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





