BlockBefore

Obsidian, Idaho

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1919 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Stanley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83278. It stands on Huckleberry Creek. The Survey maps it on the Obsidian quadrangle.

Obsidian within Custer County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 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

30 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 30 fires within 5 miles of Obsidian between 1992 and 2019, burning about 480 acres in total. 13 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
Natural13
Recreation and ceremony10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Smoking2
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1
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 2009Naturalunder an acreSawtooth National ForestREDFISH SOUTH
24 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreSawtooth National ForestFISH WHEEL
4 August 2019Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSawtooth National ForestMAYS
3 August 2002Naturalunder an acreSawtooth National Forest4TH OF JULY CREEK
29 August 2001Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSawtooth National ForestMCDONALD
22 August 1999Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSawtooth National ForestINLET
22 August 1994Smokingunder an acreSawtooth National ForestBIKE
20 August 1992Naturalunder an acreSawtooth National ForestOZ

Every fire recorded in Custer 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 Obsidian: 3 past producers, 2 prospects, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, REE, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Titanium, Geothermal. 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
Gold Creek PlacerREE, Gold, Niobium (Columbium), Garnet, Tantalum, Zirconium, TitaniumProspectPlacer
Unnamed Hot SpringGeothermalOccurrence
Williams Creek PlacerGold, REE, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), TitaniumProspectPlacer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Obsidian PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Custer County

Storms near this place

1 since 2025

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Obsidian in 1 storm report in 2025: 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2025Thunderstorm WindObsidian-A 61 mph wind gust recorded at Horton Peak mesonet site.

Every storm recorded in Custer 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
Stanley10.7 miles16
Lower Stanley11.1 miles16
Sunbeam14.6 miles16
Robinson Bar14.7 miles15
Torreys17.7 miles14
Grandjean17.9 miles17
Bonanza21.1 miles16
Custer22.8 miles15

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 396978. 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.