Priest River, Idaho
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Priest River census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83856. It stands on Priest River. The Survey maps it on the Priest River quadrangle. 1,696 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,139 feet above sea level.
On record in Priest River
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
Hotel Charbonneaulisted 1991
Lamb Creek Schoollisted 1999
Priest River Commercial Core Historic Districtlisted 1995
Settlement Schoollisted 1999- Priest River High Schoollisted 1995
Population over time
2 figuresPriest River fell from 1,751 to 1,696 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 | 1,751 | |
| 2020 | 1,696 | -55 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 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.
- 1901 USGS Sandpoint quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1911 USGS Priest Lake quadrangle1:250000
- 1911 USGS Sandpoint quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1913 USGS Priest Lake quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Sandpoint quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Sandpoint quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Priest River quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Sandpoint quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1996 USGS Priest River quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
86 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 86 fires within 5 miles of Priest River between 1992 and 2020, burning about 46 acres in total. 26 started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 26 |
| Debris and open burning | 21 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 15 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | GOLD CUP |
| 3 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | PORK & BEAN |
| 3 September 1994 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | CAKE FIRE |
| 27 September 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.7 acres | Idaho Department of Lands | OLDTOWN TRACK |
| 25 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | PRIEST RIVER-8 MILE |
| 22 September 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | RED CHERRY |
| 20 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | FOREST ROAD |
| 2 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | JACHETTA ROAD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 25 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 25 workings within 5 miles of Priest River: 17 past producers, 4 occurrences, 3 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Copper, Gold, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodie Canyon Mine | Silver, Zinc, Molybdenum, Copper | Prospect | ||
| Bodie Canyon Prospect | Silver, Molybdenum, Copper | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Cuban | Sulfur | Occurrence | ||
| Cuban ? Prospect | Sulfides | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Silver Butte Mine | Silver, Lead, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Sullivan | Gold, Molybdenum | Past Producer | ||
| Sullivan Mine | Gold, Molybdenum, Graphite | Past Producer | Underground | |
| Maurice J. Avery Property | Copper | Prospect | ||
| Swanson-Dechamps | Copper, Lead | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Location | Lead | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
11 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Priest River in 11 storm reports between 1996 and 2020: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 heavy rain, 1 flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Priest River | $125,000 | numerous reports of wind damage |
| March 2012 | Flood | Priest River | $72,000 | Several roads were washed out, flooded, or experienced some damage across Bonner County due to high spring runoff caused by record March rainfall and excess snow melt. These roads including Gold Creek (8 NE Sandpoint), Talache, East Shores Drive (4 NE Coolin), Geenan, Schneiders, Rapid Lightning Creek, Bowen Arrow (4 NE Colburn), and Merril Martin. Six homes and some businesses were isolated due to road closures. Five homes and some businesses had limited one lane access. |
| April 2017 | Debris Flow | Priest River | $50,000 | The Bonner County Sheriff reported a debris flow across East River Road, temporarily cutting travel along the eastern shore of Priest River. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Priest River | $4,000 | Multiple reports of tree damage were received from the town of Priest River including a 100 foot tall pine tree uprooted during thunderstorm winds. Some homes suffered damage to shingles and fences. Time estimated from radar data. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Priest River | - | Pictures posted on social media showed hail with an estimated diameter of 1 inch near Priest Lake. Time is estimated based on radar. |
| July 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Priest River | - | The twitter feed of a local TV station featured a photograph from a member of the public appearing to be a funnel cloud near Priest River. Time estimated from radar. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Priest River | - | Several trees were blown down after a severe thunderstorm passed through Priest River. Roof damage was also observed from the storm. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Priest River | - | 3/4 inch hail |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Priest River | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Priest River | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Heavy Rain | Priest River | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thama | 3.8 miles | 16 | |
| Oldtown | 6.8 miles | 13 | |
| Riverside (historical) | 8.1 miles | 16 | |
| Laclede | 8.2 miles | 16 | |
| Vay | 8.3 miles | 17 | |
| Seneacquoteen | 8.4 miles | 16 | |
| Sawyer | 8.5 miles | 16 | |
| Four Corners | 8.6 miles | 17 |
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 Priest River | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1517705 | 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 397069. 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.








