A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. The fire lookout tower is a small building, usually located on the summit of a mountain or other high vantage point, in order to maximize the viewing distance and range, known as view shed. From this vantage point the fire lookout can see smoke that may develop, determine the location by using a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder, and call fire suppression personnel to the fire. Lookouts also report weather changes and plot the location of lightning strikes during storms. The location of the strike is monitored for a period of days after in case of ignition.
The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned.
The Watchman Lookout Station No. 168 is one of two fire lookout towers in Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. For many years, National Park Service personnel used the lookout to watch for wildfires during the summer months. It is also a common hiking destination because of its views of Crater Lake and the surrounding area. The building is unusual because it serves the dual purpose of fire lookout and museum. The Watchman Lookout Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mingus Lookout Complex is a fire tower lookout complex atop Mingus Mountain in Prescott National Forest, in Arizona. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Red Hill Fire Observation Station consists of a fire lookout tower, cabin and pit privy located on the summit of Red Hill, a 2,990-foot (910 m) Catskill Mountain peak in Denning, New York, United States. It is the southernmost fire tower in the Catskill Park.
The Azure Mountain Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Azure Mountain at Waverly in Franklin County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a 40-foot-tall (12 m), steel-frame lookout tower erected in 1918, a jeep trail now used as a hiking trail, which extends from the base of the mountain to two former observers' cabins, and a foot trail from the cabins to the summit. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation to provide a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Forest Preserve from the hazards of forest fires.
The Blue Mountain Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Blue Mountain at Indian Lake in Hamilton County, New York. The station includes a 35-foot-tall (11 m), steel frame lookout tower erected in 1917, an observer's cabin built in 1975, the remains of three observer's cabins, remains of a radar station built in the 1960s, and remnants of telephone lines along the foot trail. There are four contributing resources: the tower, trail, remnants of a 1949 observer's cabin, and 1890s stone benchmark. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation and provided a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Forest Preserve from the hazards of forest fires.
The St. Regis Mountain Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Saint Regis Mountain at Santa Clara in Franklin County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a 35-foot-tall (11 m), steel frame lookout tower erected in 1918, the site of the former observer's cabin, and 9/10 of a mile foot trail between the cabin site and summit. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation and provided a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Forest Preserve from the hazards of forest fires.
The Hurricane Mountain Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Hurricane Mountain at Keene in Essex County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a 35-foot-tall (10.7 m), steel frame lookout tower erected in 1919, two trails leading up the 3,694-foot (1,126 m) summit, and the ruins of a lean-to style observers cabin. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation to provide a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Park from the hazards of forest fires.
The Mount Adams Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Mount Adams at Newcomb in Essex County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a 56-foot-tall (17 m), steel frame lookout tower erected in 1917, a foot trail leading up the 3,250 foot summit, and the 1922 observers cabin with shed and privy. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation to provide a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Park from the hazards of forest fires.
The Aermotor Windmill Company, or Aermotor Company, is an American manufacturer of wind-powered water pumps. The widespread use of their distinctive wind pumps on ranches throughout the arid plains and deserts of the United States has made their design a quintessential image of the American West.
Architects of the United States Forest Service are credited with the design of many buildings and other structures in National Forests. Some of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to the significance of their architecture. A number of these architectural works are attributed to architectural groups within the Forest Service rather than to any individual architect. Architecture groups or sections were formed within engineering divisions of many of the regional offices of the Forest Service and developed regional styles.
The Arctic Point Fire Lookout is a 72-foot (22 m) tall fire tower located near Big Creek, Idaho. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1994. Its NRHP listing included two contributing buildings, a log cabin residence and a standard type outhouse, as well as one contributing structure, the fire tower itself.
The Big Springs Lookout Tower is a fire lookout tower in Kaibab National Forest near Big Springs, Arizona. The tower was built in 1934 for the U.S. Forest Service by contractors from Kanab, Utah. The steel tower is 100 feet (30 m) tall and features a 7-foot (2.1 m) square cab at the top. A wood frame cabin is located near the base of the tower; the cabin was built in 1959 to replace an older log cabin.
The Hull Cabin was built in the late 1880s near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon by settler William Hull. The Hull family arrived in the area in 1880 and established a ranch in the area, raising sheep and building the Hull Tank, a large earth-banked reservoir for their stock. The Hulls branched out into prospecting and were among the first to take in tourists heading to the Grand Canyon.
The Bishop Mountain Lookout, located in Island Park, Idaho, was created between 1936 and 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and its cabin is currently available as reserved accommodations through the United States Forest Service.
The PS Knoll Lookout Complex is a fire lookout tower and accompanying cabin located in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. It was constructed in the mid-1930s. The nine-acre site consists of 3 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure. The buildings are a house, storage shed, and outhouse; the structure is the lookout tower. The lookout sits at an elevation of 8,045 feet (2,452 m), and rises to a height of 45.9 feet (14.0 m). It was constructed by the Aermotor Windmill Company in 1933.
The Reeds Peak Lookout Tower, at Squeaky Spring in Gila National Forest, on Reeds Peak, New Mexico, was built in 1929. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Bluewater Lookout Complex, in Otero County, New Mexico near Weed, New Mexico was established in 1937. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The listing included a contributing structure and two contributing buildings.
