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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.

Priest River within Bonner County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Priest 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,751
20201,696-55 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

86 since 1992

Regional 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
Natural26
Debris and open burning21
Recreation and ceremony15
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Smoking3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Fireworks2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Arson/incendiarism1

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
5 September 1999Naturalunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsGOLD CUP
3 September 1999Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsPORK & BEAN
3 September 1994Naturalunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsCAKE FIRE
27 September 2000Railroad operations and maintenance1.7 acresIdaho Department of LandsOLDTOWN TRACK
25 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsPRIEST RIVER-8 MILE
22 September 2007Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsRED CHERRY
20 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsFOREST ROAD
2 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreIdaho Department of LandsJACHETTA ROAD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bonner County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 25 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bodie Canyon MineSilver, Zinc, Molybdenum, CopperProspect
Bodie Canyon ProspectSilver, Molybdenum, CopperOccurrenceVein
CubanSulfurOccurrence
Cuban ? ProspectSulfidesOccurrenceVein
Silver Butte MineSilver, Lead, CopperPast Producer
SullivanGold, MolybdenumPast Producer
Sullivan MineGold, Molybdenum, GraphitePast ProducerUnderground
Maurice J. Avery PropertyCopperProspect
Swanson-DechampsCopper, LeadProspect
Unnamed LocationLeadOccurrence

Every working recorded in Bonner County

Storms near this place

11 since 1996

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1997Thunderstorm WindPriest River$125,000numerous reports of wind damage
March 2012FloodPriest River$72,000Several 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 2017Debris FlowPriest River$50,000The Bonner County Sheriff reported a debris flow across East River Road, temporarily cutting travel along the eastern shore of Priest River.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindPriest River$4,000Multiple 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 2020HailPriest 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 2018Funnel CloudPriest 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 2009Thunderstorm WindPriest River-Several trees were blown down after a severe thunderstorm passed through Priest River. Roof damage was also observed from the storm.
June 1997HailPriest River-3/4 inch hail
June 2006Thunderstorm WindPriest River-no account filed
June 2003HailPriest River-no account filed
May 1996Heavy RainPriest River-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bonner 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
Thama3.8 miles16
Oldtown6.8 miles13
Riverside (historical)8.1 miles16
Laclede8.2 miles16
Vay8.3 miles17
Seneacquoteen8.4 miles16
Sawyer8.5 miles16
Four Corners8.6 miles17

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 RiverAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1517705The 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.