Fire lookout
Encyclopedia
Fire lookout tower
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...
. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
tops with high elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
and a good view of the surrounding terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
, to spot smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
caused by a wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
.
Once a possible fire is spotted, "Smoke Reports", or "Lookout Shots" are relayed to the local Emergency Communications Center (ECC), often by radio or phone. A fire lookout can use a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder
Osborne Fire Finder
right|thumb|An Osborne Fire Finder device used in fire lookout towers.The Osborne Fire Finder is a type of alidade used by fire lookouts in order to find a directional bearing to smoke in order to alert fire crews to a wildland fire....
to obtain the radial
Radial
Radial can refer to:* Vector , a line* Radius, adjective form of* A radial pattern is one that appears to radiate from a point, like the spokes from the hub of a wheel* A bearing from a waypoint, such as a VOR...
in degrees off the tower, and the estimated distance from the tower to the fire.
Part of the lookout's duties include taking weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
readings and reporting the findings to the Emergency Communications Center throughout the day. Often several lookouts will overlap in coverage areas and each will “cross” the same smoke, allowing the ECC to use triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
from the radials to achieve an accurate location of the fire.
Once ground crews and fire suppression
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
aircraft
Aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
are active in fire suppression, the Lookout personnel continue to search for new smoke plumes which may indicate spotting and alterations that pose risks to ground crews.
Working in a fire lookout tower in the middle of a wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
area takes a hardy type of person, one who can work with no supervision, and is able to survive without any other human interaction. Some towers are accessible by automobile, but others are so remote a lookout must hike
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
in, or be lifted in by helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
. In many locations, even modern fire lookout towers do not have electricity or running water.
Most fire lookout jobs are seasonal through the fire season. Fire Lookouts can be paid-staff or volunteer-staff. Some volunteer organizations around the United States have started to rebuild, restore and operate aging fire lookout towers.
Countries that use fire lookouts
- USA
- Canada (B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia)
- Mexico
- Uruguay
- Brazil
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Indonesia
- France
- Italy
- Portugal
- Spain
- Germany
- Latvia
- Israel
- South Africa
Notable fire lookouts
- Hallie Morse DaggettHallie Morse DaggettHallie Morse Daggett was the first woman hired as a fire lookout by the United States Forest Service.Daggett worked at Eddy's Gulch Lookout Station at the top of Klamath Peak on the Klamath National Forest in northern California beginning in the summer of 1913...
- the first female fire lookout for the U.S. Forest Service - Helen Dowe - Devil's Head LookoutDevil's Head LookoutDevil's Head Lookout is a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower located in Douglas County, Colorado. The tower is accessed by hiking on the Devils Head National Recreation Trail. The original tower was built in 1912 on a large pinnacle of Pikes Peak granite and is used as a fire lookout point in...
at Pike National Forest (1918) - Ramona Merwin and family - Vetter Mountain, raised her family in the lookout
- Howard "Razz" Gardner and Keith V. Johnson "The Lookout Air RaidThe Lookout Air RaidThe Lookout Air Raids were minor, but historic, World War II events that occurred in the mountains of Oregon, several miles outside Brookings....
" a little known Japanese aircraft attack of Oregon, USA during World War II - Roy SullivanRoy SullivanRoy Cleveland Sullivan was a U.S. park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was hit by lightning on seven different occasions and survived all of them. For this reason, he gained a nickname "Human Lightning Conductor" or "Human Lightning Rod"...
, worked as a fire lookout in his early career as a U.S. National Park Ranger, but was best known for having set a world record for surviving seven lightning strikes during his life.
Famous fire lookouts
Famous people who have worked as fire lookouts include:- Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, whose books The Dharma BumsThe Dharma BumsThe Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-fictional accounts in the novel are based upon events that occurred years after the events of On the Road...
, Desolation AngelsDesolation AngelsDesolation Angels is a 1979 album by the hard rock band Bad Company. It was their 5th studio release. Paul Rodgers revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard that the album's title came from the novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac.Desolation Angels was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey,...
and Lonesome TravelerLonesome TravelerLonesome Traveler is a collection of short stories and sketches by American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, published in 1960. It is a compilation of Kerouac's journal entries about traveling the United States, Mexico, Morocco, the United Kingdom and France, and covers similar issues to his novels...
include accounts of his job as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the North CascadesNorth CascadesThe North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...
during the summer of 1956. - Edward AbbeyEdward AbbeyEdward Paul Abbey was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental...
, who was a fire lookout at Mt. Harkness (1966; Lassen National Park), Atacosa (1968; Coronado National Forest), North Rim (1969-1971; Grand Canyon National Park), Numa Ridge (1975; Glacier National Park), and Aztec Peak (1977-1979; Tonto National Forest). - Doug PeacockDoug PeacockDoug Peacock is an American naturalist, outdoorsman, and author. He is best known for his book Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, a memoir of his experiences in the 1970s and 1980s, much of which was spent alone in the wilderness of the western United States observing grizzly...
, who was a fire lookout at Huckleberry and Scalplock in Glacier National Park from 1976 to 1984. - Gary SnyderGary SnyderGary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
, who was a fire lookout at Crater Peak and Sourdough Mountain in the North Cascades. - Philip WhalenPhilip WhalenPhilip Glenn Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation.-Biography:...
, who was a fire lookout on Sourdough Mountain and Sauk Mountain in the North Cascades. - Norman MacleanNorman MacleanNorman Fitzroy Maclean was an American author and scholar noted for his books A River Runs Through It and Other Stories and Young Men and Fire .-Biography:...
, who chronicled his experience in USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky
Additional information
- Fire lookout registry
- California fire lookouts
- Lookout Charley, a online photo weblog of a USFS Volunteer Fire Lookout at Vetter Mountain, California
External links
- Fire Lookouts (US Forest Service History Pages, Forest History SocietyForest History SocietyThe Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history. The society was established in 1946 and incorporated in 1955....
) - Ontario's Fire Tower Lookouts: Preserving their history
- Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association (Los Angeles, CA)
- Forest Fire Lookout Association
- Portugal Fire Tower Lookouts- click on the dots to see photos of each tower
- Lookout Vistas
- http://www.firelookoutsdownunder.comFire Tower Lookouts in Australia
- The Fire Towers of New York