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Libby, Montana

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Libby census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59923. It stands on Flower Creek. The Survey maps it on the Libby quadrangle. 2,775 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,096 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Libby within Lincoln County

On record in Libby

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Libby grew from 2,628 to 2,775 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
20102,628
20202,775+147 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 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

348 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 348 fires within 5 miles of Libby between 1992 and 2020, burning about 276 acres in total. 75 started naturally. 18 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
Recreation and ceremony180
Natural75
Missing data/not specified/undetermined27
Arson/incendiarism18
Debris and open burning17
Smoking9
Fireworks6
Equipment and vehicle use5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3

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
9 September 1995Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreKootenai National ForestRACETRACK #9,
5 September 2020Power generation/transmission/distribution1.5 acresKootenai National ForestREMPS
5 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKootenai National Forestnot named
4 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKootenai National ForestLIBBY SUPERFUND 6
4 September 2007Naturalunder an acreKootenai National ForestOBSIDIAN FLAT
4 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKootenai National ForestEAST HEMP HILL
3 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKootenai National ForestGOLF COURSE
3 September 2005Naturalunder an acreKootenai National ForestWEST SWEDE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lincoln County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Libby: 4 past producers, 3 occurrences, 2 prospects, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Copper. 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
Copper MountainCopper, Gold, SilverOccurrence
Copper-Silver-Iron OccurrenceCopper, Gold, Iron, Silver, ZincOccurrence
Denver No. 1 & 2Lead, Tungsten, SilverUnknown
Fisher River QuarryGold, SilverPast Producer
Heintz R A ConstructionStone, DimensionPast Producer
Herbert GroupGold, Lead, Zinc, SilverPast Producer
Iron OccurrenceIron, Lead, Silver, ZincOccurrence
Granite Concrete Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Libby Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
D. & W. GroupLeadProspect

Every working recorded in Lincoln County

Storms near this place

19 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Libby in 19 storm reports between 1996 and 2022: 9 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 3 hail, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 5 injuries. 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
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLibby2 hurt, $1,500,000no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindLibby1 hurt, $30,000Straight line winds blew numerous large trees down onto power lines, buildings, vehicles and roads in and around Yaak. Power was out to the entire community. Several large trees were blown down onto power lines in Libby from straight line winds. From Eureka to Port of Roosville, straight line winds blew numerous large trees and limbs down onto power lines and vehicles. One carport was blown into a field, and roof damage was reported.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindLibby1 hurtNumerous large trees and large limbs were blown down in and around Libby and Troy. In addition, a large tree was blown down on a hiker on the Cedar Creek trail 4 miles southwest of Libby. The rescue team reported that numerous trees were blown down over the trail.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLibby1 hurtno account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindLibby$35,000Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 mph produced substantial structural damage to the drive-in theater and the town ball park. Numerous large trees were also blown down.
March 2017Heavy RainLibby$20,000At least four trailer homes in Troy were directly impacted by water that had flowed over US-2 from an unauthorized channel that had overflowed. In Libby, a home cellar was flooded, the Libby Elementary School saw minor issues and Education Way was closed due to flooding caused by a clogged drainage. Silver Butte Creek south of Libby filled with debris causing it to re-route and surround a house with water during the early morning hours of the 19th. Several culverts had to be replaced due to washouts.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindLibby$4,000The emergency manager from Lincoln County reported that numerous trees and power lines were down with roads blocked in the Libby area. The Zonolite RAWS located at 4,200 feet MSL reported a 51 mph wind gust at the 21:06 MST observation time.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindLibby$2,000Ten inch diameter trees were blown over along Montana Highway 37. Hail 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter was also reported.
June 2022FloodLibby-The Yaak River near Troy reached minor flood stage with limited impact noted. More significant impacts occurred along Hwy 508 between US Highway 2 and Yaak, as debris and water across the road resulted in a closure for much of June 14.
June 2021HailLibby-Reports of dime to quarter sized hail in Libby. Some trees lost leaves but no other damage was noted.
March 2014Heavy RainLibby-Several days of moderate to heavy rainfall contributed to rock slides across northwest Montana. One in particular blocked a lane on Montana 37 north of the Libby Dam for a few hours.
July 2011Heavy RainLibby-A trained spotter reported one inch of rain in 30 minutes.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLibby-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLibby-no account filed
April 2002FloodLibby-no account filed
May 1998HailLibby-no account filed
July 1997Funnel CloudLibby-no account filed
September 1997HailLibby-no account filed
May 1996FloodLibby-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lincoln 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
Green Acres0.9 miles14
White Haven3.6 miles14
Pioneer Junction4.1 miles14
Ripley5.5 miles16
Jennings11.3 miles15
Kootenai Falls12.7 miles14
Scotchville (historical)14.5 miles15
Warland (historical)16.2 miles9

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 LibbyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q957370The 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 786083. 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.