Challis, Idaho
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Challis census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83226. The Survey maps it on the Challis quadrangle. 902 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,253 feet above sea level.
On record in Challis
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 12 of 25 shown
Bayhorselisted 1976
Building at 247 Pleasant Avenuelisted 1980
Bux's Placelisted 1980
Bill Chivers Houselisted 1980
Thomas Chivers Cellarlisted 1980
Thomas Chivers Houselisted 1980
I.O.O.F. Halllisted 1980
McKendrick Houselisted 1980
Penwell Houselisted 1980
Donaldson Rowles Houselisted 1980
Twin Peaks Sportslisted 1980- Board-and-Batten Commercial Buildinglisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresChallis fell from 1,081 to 902 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,081 | |
| 2020 | 902 | -179 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 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.
- 1956 USGS Challis quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Challis quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Challis quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
16 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Challis between 1992 and 2020, burning about 130 acres in total. 3 started naturally. None was 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 10 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 9 July 1994 | Natural | 118 acres | Salmon-Challis National Forest | BLUE MOUNTAIN |
| 9 July 1994 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 24 July 1995 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Idaho Falls District | MATTRESS |
| 21 July 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Twin Falls District | PENNAL GULCH |
| 16 July 2018 | Natural | under an acre | Twin Falls District | LOMBARD |
| 16 July 2002 | Fireworks | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | JUNCTION 75 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Challis: 3 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Geothermal, Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Creek Mine | Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Mill Creek Project | Stone, Dimension | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Fluorine-Fluorite | Occurrence | ||
| Hot Spring | Geothermal | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Hot Springn | Geothermal | Occurrence | ||
| Challis Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Prospect |
Storms near this place
18 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Challis in 18 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 9 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 1 hail, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | $3,000 | Tree downed on a house in Challis with a reported 61 mph wind gust. Power was knocked out for 2 hours in the entire city of Challis. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | $1,000 | Tree blown down in Challis in 60 mph wind gusts. |
| September 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | $1,000 | Wind gusts estimated over 60 mph uprooted a large spruce tree in Challis and it took out a Custer Telephone cable TV line. Salmon River Electric reported power outages in the Yankee Fork and Rod and Gun Club areas. The Yankee Fork outage was due to a tree falling on the Yankee Fok distribution line. About 50 people lost power for 3 hours. Times estimated from newspaper and ASOS reports in the area. |
| April 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Challis | $1,000 | A tornado was reported 2 miles north of Challis. It removed and destroyed a roof on a house. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | - | A 58 mph wind gust recorded by spotter in Challis. |
| September 2025 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | A mudslide occurred in Custer County on Bayhorse Creek Rd about 1 mile from the Bayhorse town site. One to one and a half inches of rain fell in a two hour period. |
| August 2023 | Debris Flow | Challis | - | Heavy rain caused a landslide blocking all lanes of Highway 75 near US Highway 93 south of Challis. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | - | Trained spotter had a 61 mph wind gust. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | Idaho Transportation Department reported multiple mudslides and rock falls along US 93 between Evans and McKim Creek roads. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | - | A 61 mph wind gust measured in Challis. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | Custer County Sheriffs office reported 1 foot of water near Garden Creek affecting power and telephone poles. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | Rainfall of 0.30 inches in 15 minutes caused extensive street flooding in the city of Challis. |
| July 2008 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | The Morgan Creek area had several roads washed out by heavy rains. |
| July 2007 | Hail | Challis | - | Three-quarter inch hail reported in Challis. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Challis | - | Rainfall of over 1 inch in less than one hour caused three mudslides along highway 75 in Challis. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | - | In Challis strong winds downed trees and power lines causing the power to go out. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Challis | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City (historical) | 0.4 miles | 11 | |
| Bayhorse | 8.5 miles | 13 | |
| Ellis | 16.2 miles | 11 | |
| Crystal (historical) | 17.1 miles | 14 | |
| Clayton | 19.2 miles | 13 | |
| Custer | 25.9 miles | 15 | |
| Torreys | 26.2 miles | 14 | |
| Bonanza | 27.9 miles | 16 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Challis | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1516949 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 397543. 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.






