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Kamiah, Idaho

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1924 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Kamiah census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83536. It stands on Lawyer Creek. The Survey maps it on the Kamiah quadrangle. 1,117 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,247 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Kamiah within Lewis County

On record in Kamiah

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Kamiah fell from 1,295 to 1,117 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,295
20201,117-178 (-14%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

170 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 170 fires within 5 miles of Kamiah between 1992 and 2020, burning about 57,878 acres in total. 66 started naturally. 11 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
Natural66
Missing data/not specified/undetermined44
Debris and open burning24
Arson/incendiarism11
Fireworks8
Equipment and vehicle use7
Recreation and ceremony5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCoeur d'Alene Field OfficeALMOST HEAVEN
8 September 1997Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresIdaho Department of LandsHAYSTACK
7 September 1998Naturalunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsGLENWOOD
3 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIdaho Department of Lands38 SPECIAL
3 September 1994Debris and open burningunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsTRASH
28 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNez Perce TribeGLENWOOD 184
28 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNez Perce TribeDOTY ROAD
26 September 2012Fireworks584 acresNez Perce TribeFLYING B

Every fire recorded in Lewis County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Kamiah: 3 producers, 3 past producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Mica, Uranium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Ida-Lew ConstructionUranium, StonePast Producer
Myers Mica MineMica, PGE, MolybdenumUnknown
Myers Mica MineMicaPast Producer1920
Seven Mile PitStoneProducer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Lewis County

Storms near this place

10 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kamiah in 10 storm reports between 2010 and 2024: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 debris flow, 2 flood, 1 heavy rain. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2024Debris FlowKamiah$200,000Emergency manager reported debris flow over Highway 64. It closed the section of road between milepost 23 to 31. Cost of repair is estimated.
April 2019FloodKamiah$100,000High water in the Clearwater River augmented by a levee break along Lawyer Creek produced extensive flooding near the confluence of these two streams on the eastern edge of the city of Kamiah. The flood waters were reported to be waist deep in the Kamiah Riverfront Park. Flood waters also partially inundated a lumber yard, undermined a railroad grade and trestle crossing Lawyer Creek and high water prohibited access to the city's water plant. The levee was temporarily repaired by the public works department as the creek receded.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindKamiah$50,000A series of photographs from the Lewis County Emergency Manager indicated numerous trees down in Kamiah, with damage to outbuildings, a barn and at least one car in and around the town.
June 2010Heavy RainKamiah$32,000Road damage from heavy rain was observed on Drake, Gibler, Hull, Ida, Lawyer, McLead, Miller, and Z West roads.
April 2019Debris FlowKamiah$10,000Several mud slides were reported over Highway 12 just west of Kamiah on the morning of April 9th. One of the slides completely covered the road and caused the temporary closure of this primary road through the region while crews cleared the debris.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindKamiah$2,000Avista reported approximately 600 without power in the Kamiah area due to thunderstorm wind gusts. Nearby observations show wind speeds around 45 to 55 mph.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindKamiah$1,000Several trees uprooted and split, with large branches broken off due to thunderstorm winds.
December 2017Debris FlowKamiah$1,000Heavy rain and snow melt saturated the ground and caused a Debris Flow near Kamiah. The mudslide cut and temporarily closed Idaho Highway 64 between Nez Perce and Kamiah.
April 2011FloodKamiah-Flooding of Lawyer's Creek resulted in closures of Lawyer's Creek Road between highway 162 and Flying B Ranch. The main creek split with one flow going toward Flying B Ranch where one resident reported at least one foot of water around his house. The rest of the creek flowed eastward to Robinson's Pond where it ate away at the levy between the pond and highway spilling about three feet of water over the road.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindKamiah-Strong wind from a thunderstorm in Kamiah blew down several trees.

Every storm recorded in Lewis County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Nezperce11.2 miles8
Howard14.6 miles8
Mohler17.3 miles8
Fletcher20.7 miles8
Vollmer23.2 miles8
Craigmont23.2 miles8
Ilo (historical)24.8 miles8
Craig Junction26.9 miles9

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 KamiahAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1513681The 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 396726. 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.