Smokejumpers are specially trained wildland firefighters who provide an initial attack response on remote wildland fires. They are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute. This allows firefighters to access remote fires in their early stages without needing to hike long distances carrying equipment and supplies. Traditional terrestrial crews can use only what they can carry and often require hours and days to reach fire on foot. The benefits of smokejumping include the speed at which firefighters can reach a burn site, the broad range of fires a single crew can reach by aircraft, and the larger equipment payloads that can be delivered to a fire compared to pedestrian crews.
Mount Adams, known by some Native American tribes as Pahto or Klickitat, is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range. Although Adams has not erupted in more than 1,000 years, it is not considered extinct. It is the second-highest mountain in Washington, after Mount Rainier.
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The basis for the novel's semi-fictional accounts are events occurring years after the events of On the Road. The main characters are the narrator Ray Smith, based on Kerouac, and Japhy Ryder, based on the poet and essayist Gary Snyder, who was instrumental in Kerouac's introduction to Buddhism in the mid-1950s.
Palomar Mountain is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park.
Ross Lake National Recreation Area is a US national recreation area in north central Washington just south of the Canada–US border. It is the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Complex which also includes North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Ross Lake NRA follows the Skagit River corridor from the Canada–US border to the western foothills of the Cascades. The NRA contains a portion of scenic Washington State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, and includes three reservoirs: 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) Ross Lake, 910-acre (370 ha) Diablo Lake, and 210-acre (85 ha) Gorge Lake. These reservoirs make up the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project operated by Seattle City Light. Nestled in the "American Alps" the Ross Lake NRA bisects the north and south units of North Cascades National Park.
Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres, it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest is located in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima counties.
A fire lookout tower, fire tower, or lookout tower is a tower that provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout", whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or other high vantage point to maximize 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 for wildfire suppression crews. 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 afterwards, in case of ignition.
Vetter Mountain is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and within the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Elevation 5,911 feet (1,802 m) feet.
The Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association ("ANFFLA") is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of citizen volunteers dedicated to the preservation, restoration and operation of the fire lookout towers in the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, and other Southern California areas. The organization works in partnership with the federal, state, county and city agencies to meet these goals.
The Pinaleño Mountains, are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona, near Safford, Arizona. The mountains have over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of vertical relief, more than any other range in the state. The mountains are surrounded by the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Desert. Subalpine forests cover the higher elevations. According to The Nature Conservancy, they traverse five ecological communities and contain "the highest diversity of habitats of any mountain range in North America." The highest point is Mount Graham at 10,720 feet (3,267 m). Locals often refer to the whole mountain range as "Mount Graham", in which case the peak is referred to as "High Peak". The mountains cover 300 square miles (780 km2) and are part of the Coronado National Forest, Safford ranger district.
Gaudineer Knob is a mountain summit on the Randolph/Pocahontas County line in eastern West Virginia, US. It is the highest elevation of Shavers Mountain, a ridge of the Alleghenies, and is located about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) east of Cheat Bridge. The Gaudineer Knob Lookout Tower, an important US Forest Service (USFS) fire tower, formerly occupied the crown of the knob.
Desolation Peak is in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington state, about 6.2 miles (10.0 km) south of the Canada–United States border and in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. It was first climbed in 1926 by Lage Wernstedt, who named it for the destruction caused by a forest fire that swept the slopes bare that same year. At the summit stands a small wooden one-room fire lookout belonging to the National Park Service. The lookout is 15 miles (24 km) from the nearest road and overlooks miles of forest and numerous other peaks.
The Sourdough Mountain Lookout is a fire lookout that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. Constructed atop Sourdough Mountain in North Cascades National Park, in the U.S. state of Washington, the lookout was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Sourdough Mountain is in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. The Sourdough Mountain Lookout, is a fire lookout that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 near the summit. The lookout was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Hidden Lake Peaks is series of peaks with a maximum elevation of 7,088 feet that are located in the North Cascades, in Skagit County of Washington state. The peaks extend three miles southwest from the nearest higher peak called The Triad. Situated on the western boundary of North Cascades National Park, Hidden Lake Peaks are positioned west of the crest of the Cascade Range, approximately ten miles east of the town of Marblemount. The popular subsidiary peak, Hidden Lake Lookout (6890 ft), lies a half mile to the southwest of the highest summit. The mountain's name is taken from its proximity to Hidden Lake which lies in a cirque below the east aspect of these two main peaks. Precipitation runoff from Hidden Lake Peaks drains into Cascade River which is a tributary of the Skagit River.
Slate Peak is a 7,440-foot (2,270-metre) mountain summit located on the shared border between Okanogan County and Whatcom County in Washington state. It is part of the Okanogan Range, which is a sub-range of the North Cascades. The mountain is situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Mazama, on the boundary line of the Pasayten Wilderness, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. The peak has the distinction of having the highest road in Washington, as well as the highest fire lookout. Although the narrow one-lane white-knuckle road reaches the summit of the mountain, the Forest Service gated it to vehicles, which necessitates walking the final few hundred yards. Additionally, the Pacific Crest Trail traverses the west slope of the peak, and the West Fork Pasayten Trail traverses the eastern slope. The nearest higher peak is Devils Peak, 2.57 miles (4.14 km) to the north. Precipitation runoff from Slate Peak drains east into Pasayten River, or west into Slate Creek, which is in the Skagit River drainage basin.
Glee Peak is a 7,180-foot-elevation (2,190-meter) mountain summit located in Whatcom County of Washington state, United States. It is set within North Cascades National Park and Stephen Mather Wilderness, where it is situated 1.7 mile north of The Roost and one mile south of Azure Lake. The nearest higher neighbor is McMillan Spire, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the north-northwest. Glee Peak is part of the Picket Range which is a sub-range of the North Cascades, and like many North Cascades peaks, it is more notable for its large, steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation. Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises 4,000 feet above Stetattle Creek in approximately one mile, and the southwest aspect rises 6,000 feet above Goodell Creek in three miles. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into these two creeks which are both tributaries of the Skagit River. Who made the first ascent of the summit is unknown, but Glee Davis and Burton Babcock were climbing in the immediate area as early as 1905.
The Sourdough Fire is an ongoing wildfire in Whatcom County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It was reported on July 29, 2023, near Sourdough Mountain in North Cascades National Park and was likely caused by an earlier lightning strike. The fire caused the closure of the North Cascades Highway and evacuations of recreational facilities and three Seattle City Light hydroelectric dams in the area. As of September 15, the Sourdough Fire is estimated to have burned 6,369 acres (2,577 ha) and is 25 percent contained.
