Custer County, ID Temporary Kitchen Rental and Lease Options

Past emergencies and recovery needs in Custer County

Federal records show Custer County designated in 5 declarations since 1983, led by flooding (1 declaration) and hurricane (1 declaration). If you plan across towns, check the page for Challis as well; its own declaration history is listed there.

The most recent is Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (major disaster declaration, DR-4333), declared August 27, 2017, with the incident beginning May 6, 2017. Floodwater can contaminate kitchen equipment and force closures until cleanup and inspection are finished, which is when replacement cooking, dishwashing and cold storage matter. By incident type, the count is flooding 1, hurricane 1, wildfire 1, severe storms 1 and earthquake 1. By decade: 1980s 1, 1990s 1, 2000s 2 and 2010s 1. The records also list Hurricane Katrina (EM-3244, September 13, 2005), Wildfires (DR-1341, September 1, 2000), Severe Storms, Snowmelt, Land/Mud Slides, Flooding (DR-1177, June 13, 1997) and Earthquake (DR-694, November 18, 1983).

Ten years of NOAA storm records, 2016 through 2025, show 29 county-based event records for Custer County; high-wind and thunderstorm events account for 16 of them, flood events for 13. The costliest event with a reported dollar figure was a flood in May 2017, with about $3.5 million in property damage. High wind rarely wrecks a kitchen directly. It cuts the power to it, and the walk-in cooler is the first thing to suffer.

Since 2016, NIFC perimeter data lists 5 large wildfires beginning in Custer County, about 11,053 acres in all. Frog (2024, 3,021 acres) was the largest, and Doublesprings (2026) the most recent. Crews fighting and rebuilding after a fire eat on site for weeks, and the kitchens that fed the town may be the ones that lost power.

FEMA declarations apply to designated areas and do not say which individual buildings were affected.

Major construction near Custer County

Since October 2021, 9 federal construction contracts of $500,000 or more have named Custer County as the place of work. Another public record is “Gaoa/Cip Redfish Lake (Phase 3) Road Improvements Project,” a $4.3 million Department of Agriculture contract from May 2023 in Custer County (award record). In July 2022, the Department of Agriculture awarded a $2.1 million contract for “Stanley Lake Road and Alturas Lake Road Pavement Maintenance Project” in Custer County, with work running to July 2024 (award record). USASpending.gov shows a $589,000 Department of the Interior contract, “Cottonwood Riverbank Stabilization,” starting September 2022 in Custer County (award record). The Department of Agriculture committed $587,000 to “Igf:cl:igf Redfish Lake Outlet Trail Bridge Construction Project 2021” in Custer County, awarded July 2021 (award record). Crews on projects like this rarely have a restaurant nearby, which is the case for cooking on site with a rented kitchen and a dishwashing trailer. A project in Challis, about 944 residents, would face the same phasing questions about gates, haul roads and pad space.

Rebuilds and remodels around Custer County

No federal contract for repairing or modernizing a building is on record for Custer County. The nearest is in Butte County, about 67 miles away. Another public record is “Crmo 323904, Rehabilitate Operational Buildings at Idaho Parks,” a $4.4 million Department of the Interior contract from July 2025 in Butte County (award record). Renovations like this are the usual reason an institution leases a mobile kitchen, because the permanent one cannot run while the work is under way. Challis is on the same footing: the old kitchen closes on a date, and the temporary one has to be cooking before it.

Getting emergency equipment into Custer County

In Idaho, the Idaho Office of Emergency Management (IOEM) works with counties on emergency operations. Official staging areas and the roads that connect them to local emergency-management hubs are published by those agencies and should be checked there. For work in Challis, look to the agencies covering that area rather than assuming the same routes.

Local rental costs in Custer County

There is no single price for every job in Custer County. Equipment, rental term, delivery and site conditions all change it. As a guide, prices start at the 40ft Mobile Combo Kitchen from $9,995, the 28ft Mobile Kitchen from $6,995 and the 38ft Mobile Kitchen from $7,995, and they may vary. A kitchen for Challis is built from the same quote, with delivery adjusted for the address.

Starting prices are guides, and prices may vary with location, rental length, delivery, setup and utilities. A written quote states the equipment, the rental period and what is included.