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
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
James F. Bridwell Houselisted 1989
State Bank of Kamiahlisted 1978
Population over time
2 figuresKamiah 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,295 | |
| 2020 | 1,117 | -178 (-14%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 10 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.
- 1924 USGS Kamiah quadrangle1:125000
- 1955 USGS Pullman quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Pullman quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1967 USGS Kamiah quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Kamiah quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Orofino quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
170 since 1992Regional 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 66 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44 |
| Debris and open burning | 24 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Fireworks | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Coeur d'Alene Field Office | ALMOST HEAVEN |
| 8 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Idaho Department of Lands | HAYSTACK |
| 7 September 1998 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | GLENWOOD |
| 3 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | 38 SPECIAL |
| 3 September 1994 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | TRASH |
| 28 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nez Perce Tribe | GLENWOOD 184 |
| 28 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nez Perce Tribe | DOTY ROAD |
| 26 September 2012 | Fireworks | 584 acres | Nez Perce Tribe | FLYING B |
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ida-Lew Construction | Uranium, Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Myers Mica Mine | Mica, PGE, Molybdenum | Unknown | ||
| Myers Mica Mine | Mica | Past Producer | 1920 | |
| Seven Mile Pit | Stone | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 2010Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2024 | Debris Flow | Kamiah | $200,000 | Emergency manager reported debris flow over Highway 64. It closed the section of road between milepost 23 to 31. Cost of repair is estimated. |
| April 2019 | Flood | Kamiah | $100,000 | High 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 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kamiah | $50,000 | A 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 2010 | Heavy Rain | Kamiah | $32,000 | Road damage from heavy rain was observed on Drake, Gibler, Hull, Ida, Lawyer, McLead, Miller, and Z West roads. |
| April 2019 | Debris Flow | Kamiah | $10,000 | Several 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 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kamiah | $2,000 | Avista 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 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kamiah | $1,000 | Several trees uprooted and split, with large branches broken off due to thunderstorm winds. |
| December 2017 | Debris Flow | Kamiah | $1,000 | Heavy 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 2011 | Flood | Kamiah | - | 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 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kamiah | - | Strong wind from a thunderstorm in Kamiah blew down several trees. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nezperce | 11.2 miles | 8 | |
| Howard | 14.6 miles | 8 | |
| Mohler | 17.3 miles | 8 | |
| Fletcher | 20.7 miles | 8 | |
| Vollmer | 23.2 miles | 8 | |
| Craigmont | 23.2 miles | 8 | |
| Ilo (historical) | 24.8 miles | 8 | |
| Craig Junction | 26.9 miles | 9 |
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 Kamiah | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1513681 | 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 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.





