This is a list of notable fire lookout towers and stations, including complexes of associated buildings and structures. This includes lookout cabins without towers which are perched high and do not require further elevation to serve for their purpose, and also includes notable lookout trees.
There once were more than 10,000 fire lookout persons [1] staffing more than 5,000 of fire lookout towers or fire lookout stations in the United States alone. [2] Now there are far fewer of both. Also there are a number of fire lookout trees. The U.S. state of Wisconsin decided to close its last 72 operating fire lookout towers in 2016. [3] Despite newer methods like aerial surveillance and cell phones, the U.S. state of Pennsylvania returned its use of fire lookout towers in 2017. [4]
See Category:Fire lookout towers in Australia
Fire stations with lookout towers:
and a number of other fire stations in Australia
Towers alone:
Fire lookout trees:
The National Historic Lookout Register lists most historic, surviving fire towers in the United States. Many of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Forest Fire Lookout Association.
Some are related to the Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association. California had a total of 625 fire lookout sites, of those there are 198 remaining lookout towers, and of those there are around 50 staffed. There are 11 lookouts that may be rented in California. Fire Lookouts not only watch for fire, they also record weather conditions and observe animals in some cases.
The number of towers has varied over time, and aerial monitoring is also used. [6] The following locations have fire towers as of 2020: [7]
A number of fire lookout tower stations, including many in New York State near the Adirondack Forest Preserve and Catskill Park, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [8] [9] They include:
SD Lookout Towers that no longer exist:
As of 2022 93 lookouts in Washington State are still in existence, down from a 1950's high of between 660 to 685. [10] [11]
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.
Mount Adams is a 3,520-foot-tall (1,070 m) mountain located in Essex County of New York. Atop the mountain is the Mount Adams Fire Observation Station, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Mount Tamalpais, known locally as Mount Tam, is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park, the Marin Municipal Water District watershed, and National Park Service land, such as Muir Woods.
Mount Blue is a mountain in Maine, USA. It is a hiking destination with outstanding views from the observation deck of a tower at the summit. Its name is shared with Mount Blue State Park in Weld and Mount Blue High School in Farmington.
Beacon Mountain, locally Mount Beacon, is the highest peak of Hudson Highlands, located south of City of Beacon, New York, in the Town of Fishkill. Its two summits rise above the Hudson River behind the city and can easily be seen from Newburgh across the river and many other places in the region. The more accessible northern peak, at 1,516 feet (462 m) above sea level, has a complex of radio antennas on its summit; the 1,595 feet (486 m) southern summit has a fire lookout tower, which was built in 1931.
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.
The historical Winchester Lookout, located in the North Cascades in the U.S. state of Washington, provides views of the Northern Picket Range, Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, Mount Larrabee, and Canadian peaks. The steep snowfields usually require an ice-axe well into July. The Twin Lakes road may not be passable to the trailhead which will add 2 miles (3.2 km) to the hike. Volunteers from the Mount Baker Club maintain the lookout with 2 work parties per year.
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.
Snowy Mountain is a mountain located in Hamilton County, New York. Initially known as 'Squaw Bonnet', its summit is the highest point in the county. While most maps show the elevation as 3899 feet, some suggest that more recent surveys have it as 3904 feet or even 3908 feet.
Hadley Mountain is a mountain located in the southern Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York and is the second-highest peak in Saratoga County after neighboring Tenant Mountain. The Hadley Mountain Fire Observation Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2001 for its role as a Fire lookout tower with the New York State Forest Preserve. Hadley Mountain is the highest of the three peaks that form the West Mountain ridge.
Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation.
Blue Mountain is a peak in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State in the United States. Located east of Blue Mountain Lake, Hamilton County, the peak reaches a height of 3,750 ft (1,140 m). For hiking, the elevation gain is 1,559 feet and the trail length is four miles. The trailhead elevation is 2,200 feet. It is the location of the Blue Mountain Fire Observation Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
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 Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station is located at the summit of the mountain of that name in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It comprises a steel frame fire lookout tower, the observer's cabin and privy and the jeep road to the complex.
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.
The Sterling Mountain Fire Observation Tower and Observer's Cabin is a historic fire observation station located on Sterling Mountain in Sterling Forest State Park at Greenwood Lake in Orange County, New York. Located at an elevation of 1,320 ft (400 m), the station includes a 60-foot-tall (18 m), steel-frame lookout tower erected in 1922 and an observer's cabin built about 1934. The tower is a prefabricated structure built by the Aermotor Corporation and provided a front line of defense in preserving the Ramapo Mountains from the hazards of forest fires. The observer's cabin is of light frame construction, sheathed with board and batten siding stained brown.
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.
Architects of the National Park Service are the architects and landscape architects who were employed by the National Park Service (NPS) starting in 1918 to design buildings, structures, roads, trails and other features in the United States National Parks. Many of their works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a number have also been designated as National Historic Landmarks.
Mount Morris is a 3,117-foot-tall (950 m) mountain located in Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is located in the south-southwest of the village of Tupper Lake in Franklin County, and is "the highest peak immediately east of Tupper Lake." It is named after the town in which it was then located.
Cornell Hill is a 430-foot-tall (130 m) mountain in the Capital District, New York#Capital District of New York. It is located northeast of Round Lake in Saratoga County. In 1923, a 60-foot-tall (18 m) steel fire lookout tower was built on the mountain. Due to the increased use of aerial detection, the tower ceased fire lookout operations at the end of the 1970 fire lookout season. In the summer of 2008, the tower was moved to the former Boy Scout Camp Saratoga.
Zimmermann (1969:5-6) reported that the Forest Service and State Forestry Departments had constructed a total of 5,060 lookout towers by 1953. He noted a steady decrease since that time. His 1967 count indicated that of the towers recorded in 1953 thirty percent were gone. This was partially due to the increased reliance by the Forest Service on aerial patrols for detection.Note the PDF file includes also December 5, 1990 document by Teri A. Cleeland.