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Ketchum, Idaho

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Ketchum census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83340. It lies near Penny Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Sun Valley quadrangle. 3,555 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,853 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Ketchum within Blaine County

On record in Ketchum

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 5 records

Population over time

3 figures

Ketchum grew from 2,000 to 3,555 between 1884 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
18842,000
20102,689
20203,555+866 (+32%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 17 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

33 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 33 fires within 5 miles of Ketchum between 1992 and 2020, burning about 935 acres in total. 12 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
Natural12
Recreation and ceremony9
Equipment and vehicle use5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Smoking1
Other causes1
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
8 September 2011Natural2.4 acresTwin Falls DistrictGREENHORN
29 September 2000Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSawtooth National ForestGREYHAWK
24 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSawtooth National ForestCOLLEGE
16 September 1998Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSawtooth National ForestUNCLE JOHNS
13 September 2013Naturalunder an acreSawtooth National ForestCOTTONWOOD
13 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTwin Falls DistrictBOUNDARY CG
25 August 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSawtooth National ForestBROADWAY
21 August 1995Naturalunder an acreSawtooth National ForestPARKER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Blaine County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 62 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 62 workings within 5 miles of Ketchum: 22 past producers, 18 occurrences, 17 unknowns, 5 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Silver, Gold, Zinc. 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
Allen MineCopper, Silver, Lead, GoldPast ProducerVein
Allen MineLead, Silver, Copper, GoldPast Producer
Bald Eagle MineCopper, Silver, Lead, GoldUnknown
Bald Eagle ProspectGold, Copper, Silver, LeadOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite
Baltimore MineZinc, Silver, Lead, Gold, CopperPast Producer
ElkhornLead, Zinc, Silver, GoldPast Producer
Elkhorn MineSilver, Gold, LeadPast Producer1879
Evelyn ProspectCoal, LeadOccurrenceSedimentary
Evelyn ProspectLead, CoalUnknown
Ida HarlanStone, Crushed/Broken, Zinc, Silver, Lead, QuartzUnknown

Every working recorded in Blaine County

Storms near this place

24 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ketchum in 24 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 lightning. 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
March 2018FloodKetchum$155,000Warmer temperatures caused rises in the Wood River and period of rain embedded as well and flooding began in Bellevue on March 13th. Spruce Street in Bellevue flooded with Pero Road closed on the 15th. By the 27th the following roads in Blaine County were all reported closed: Democrat Gulch, Colorado Gulch, Road Canyon, Quigley, Muldoon Canyon, Rock Creek, Camp Creek, Croy Creek. Two homes in the Warm Springs area flooded along with adjacent barns and buildings. Estimated march damage in the county was seet at $155,000.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindKetchum$3,000Multiple large trees downed on Bald Mountain blocking some trails. Most of the trees were uprooted and a mudslide was also reported.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindKetchum$1,000A tree was downed in the Adams Gulch area near Ketchum.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindKetchum$1,000Tree downed from thunderstorm winds across lower portion of Bald Mountain Trail near the Big Wood River. Outdoor event tents were blown over at Sun Valley Resort.
August 2014LightningKetchum$1,000A lightning strike to a power pole in between Hailey and Ketchum shut down power and also business in Ketchum from 5:35 pm MDT to 8 pm MDT on August 12th.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindKetchum-Station SVB1H recorded a 58 mph wind gust near Ketchum.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindKetchum-A 60 mph gust measured on Bald Mountain.
August 2019Debris FlowKetchum-On August 9th a mud slide occurred one mile past the east fort of Baker Creek. Warm Springs Road was impassable from the west of the Hot Springs in Ketchum. 3 to 5 inches of mud covered the road.
May 2019HailKetchum-One inch hail reported in Ketchum taking leaves off trees.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindKetchum-Mesonet station NFFI1 recorded a 63 mph wind gust 7 miles north northwest of Ketchum.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindKetchum-A tree was downed and fell into a roadway blocking one lane of traffic in Ketchum.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindKetchum-A 58 mph wind gust measured at Bald Mountain.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindKetchum-A 69 mph wind gust was recorded on Bald Mountain.
August 2014Flash FloodKetchum-Heavy rains caused 2 to 3 meet of mud to ooze out of Castle Creek into Warm Springs west of the city of Ketchum. This occurred between 2:30 and 3:30 pm MDT.
August 2014HailKetchum-Hail one inch in diameter fell in the city of Ketchum. The hail accumulated up to a depth of 2 inches on sidewalks in spots.
July 2009Flash FloodKetchum-Heavy rain from a thunderstorm caused a mudslide over the Castle Rock burn area causing Warm Springs Road to be closed. The mud was 2 feet deep and 30 feet wide on the road.
June 2009Flash FloodKetchum-One inch of rain fell in a 20 minute period over the Castle Rock burn area causing mud and debris to flow over Warm Springs Road.
June 2009Flash FloodKetchum-Two mudslides were reported on Warm Springs Road due to heavy rain at the Castle Rock burn area.
June 2009Flash FloodKetchum-Heavy rain caused mudslide on Warm Springs Road at the Castle rock Burn site as reported by the Blaine County Sheriff.
September 2007Flash FloodKetchum-Mud slides reported on Warm Springs road 2 miles west of Ketchum.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindKetchum-59 mph wind gust at Bald Mountain.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindKetchum-68 mph wind at Bald Mountain.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindKetchum-Wind knocked down a tree that crushed a trailer home. Wind caused power outages.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindKetchum-Gusty winds and hail associated with severe thunderstorms moved through southern Idaho and parts of northern Idaho. In Dubois, a tractor-semitrailer was overturned causing the road to close for an hour. Trees and power lines were downed in the Hailey and the Terreton area. Lightning also caused seven fire starts. The largest fire was 500 acres at Black Butte.

Every storm recorded in Blaine 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
Sun Valley1.3 miles17
Elkhorn Village1.7 miles17
Gimlet5.3 miles16
Triumph6.3 miles17
Clarendon Hot Springs8.8 miles17
Barite8.8 miles16
Cathedral Pines10.9 miles16
Hailey11.4 miles16

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 KetchumAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1519069The 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 397833. 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.