Thunderstorms bring high winds, spark wildfires

Forecasters knew Boise and the surrounding areas were in for an unsettled evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., the National Weather Service reported severe thunderstorms near the Swan Falls Dam had created 60 mph wind gusts and blowing dust, reducing visibility to near zero.

By 6:30 p.m., the Bureau of Land Management reported responding to several lightning-caused fires south of the Orchard Training Range, near Baja Road, one near Lockman Butte, and one near Ditto Creek. There was no immediate threat to structures.

BLM responded to nine lightning-caused fires in the Boise National Forest on Monday. There were two fires near Grandview, five fires in and around Mountain Home or the Mountain Home Air Force Base, one near Hammett and another near the Firebird Raceway.

There was one fire at Highway 16 and Grand Ridge Lane, outside Star, but that fire has not been determined as caused by lightning.

Here’s the status of the active fires in Southwest Idaho as of 9:30 p.m.

Yeti Fire

▪ Approximately 11 miles northwest of Grandview

▪ Approximately 3,000 acres

Bigfoot Fire

▪ Approximately 12 miles northwest of Grandview

▪ Approximately 200 acres

Lock Fire

▪ Approximately 6 miles northwest of Mountain Home

▪ Approximately 350-plus acres

Breeze Fire

▪ Approximately 14 miles northwest of Mountain Home

▪ Approximately 800-plus acres

Rattle Fire

▪ Approximately 11 miles south of Mountain Home

▪ Approximately 200-plus acres

Sim Fire

▪ Approximately 7 miles northwest of the Mountain Home Air Force Base

▪ Approximately 200-plus acres

Chalk Flat Fire

▪ Approximately 5 miles northwest of Hammett

▪ Approximately 250-plus acres

Beet Dump Fire

▪ Approximately 2 miles east of the Mountain Home Air Force Base

▪ Approximately 1,500 acres

Grand Fire

▪ Approximately 3 miles north of Firebird Raceway

▪ Approximately 100 acres

The forecasted high for Boise on Monday was 99. A cold front on the heels of the afternoon and evening thunderstorms — expected to impact mountain areas north and east of Boise after midnight — should knock high temperatures down to the 80s the next few days.

The humidity in Boise hit a near high as well on Monday, peaking at a dew point of 67 degrees Fahrenheit, which the NWS reported as the second-highest in the last 100 years.

The low Tuesday morning will be in the 60s, and it will be even cooler the next few mornings. Lows will be in the 50s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning.

Highs will climb back into the 90s by the weekend.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Thunderstorms bring high winds, spark wildfires."