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
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
Coram Hotel, Thelisted 2012
Libby High Schoollisted 2008- Heritage Museum, Thelisted 2020
Population over time
2 figuresLibby 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,628 | |
| 2020 | 2,775 | +147 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 14 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.
- 1920 USGS Libby quadrangle1:125000
- 1930 USGS Libby quadrangle1:125000
- 1932 USGS Libby quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Libby quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Libby quadrangle1:100000
- 1997 USGS Libby quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
348 since 1992Regional 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 ceremony | 180 |
| Natural | 75 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Smoking | 9 |
| Fireworks | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | RACETRACK #9, |
| 5 September 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.5 acres | Kootenai National Forest | REMPS |
| 5 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | not named |
| 4 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | LIBBY SUPERFUND 6 |
| 4 September 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | OBSIDIAN FLAT |
| 4 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | EAST HEMP HILL |
| 3 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | GOLF COURSE |
| 3 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Kootenai National Forest | WEST SWEDE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Mountain | Copper, Gold, Silver | Occurrence | ||
| Copper-Silver-Iron Occurrence | Copper, Gold, Iron, Silver, Zinc | Occurrence | ||
| Denver No. 1 & 2 | Lead, Tungsten, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Fisher River Quarry | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Heintz R A Construction | Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Herbert Group | Gold, Lead, Zinc, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Iron Occurrence | Iron, Lead, Silver, Zinc | Occurrence | ||
| Granite Concrete Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Libby Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| D. & W. Group | Lead | Prospect |
Storms near this place
19 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | 2 hurt, $1,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | 1 hurt, $30,000 | Straight 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 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | 1 hurt | Numerous 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 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | $35,000 | Estimated 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 2017 | Heavy Rain | Libby | $20,000 | At 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 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | $4,000 | The 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | $2,000 | Ten inch diameter trees were blown over along Montana Highway 37. Hail 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter was also reported. |
| June 2022 | Flood | Libby | - | 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 2021 | Hail | Libby | - | Reports of dime to quarter sized hail in Libby. Some trees lost leaves but no other damage was noted. |
| March 2014 | Heavy Rain | Libby | - | 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 2011 | Heavy Rain | Libby | - | A trained spotter reported one inch of rain in 30 minutes. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Libby | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Flood | Libby | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Libby | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Libby | - | no account filed |
| September 1997 | Hail | Libby | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Flood | Libby | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Acres | 0.9 miles | 14 | |
| White Haven | 3.6 miles | 14 | |
| Pioneer Junction | 4.1 miles | 14 | |
| Ripley | 5.5 miles | 16 | |
| Jennings | 11.3 miles | 15 | |
| Kootenai Falls | 12.7 miles | 14 | |
| Scotchville (historical) | 14.5 miles | 15 | |
| Warland (historical) | 16.2 miles | 9 |
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 Libby | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q957370 | 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 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.








