Engine 621 Visits a Fire Lookout Tower

Part of effective fire suppression is knowing your surroundings. On rainy, overcast mornings when we're caught up with project work, we drive back roads to better prepare us for fires. Knowing how to get somewhere fast, what the terrain is like, and available water sources are all extremely important. In the process, we get to visit places most people don't get a chance to see. One day, we heard about an old, abandoned DNR fire lookout tower someone had spotted off in the distance. The tower didn't appear on any of our maps, and you couldn't see it from any main roads. Since "adventure" is Engine 621's middle name, we set out to try to find it. After driving an hour on some obscure roads and beating around in the brush, here's what we discovered. Tower in grey

The lookout is about 50 feet off the ground. You get to the top by negotiating 5 flights of rickety stairs. A long way up

The view from the inside. Today, we were in the clouds. Elevation around 3,700 feet or so. On a sunny day the view would be spectacular. Inside the tower

Zack checking out the scenery to the east. "No fires to report, Puget." Zack looking for smokes

It's kind of a long way down (and up). Probably not the best place for someone with a fear of heights.

The outhouse down below had an interesting interior paint job. Probably done by a very bored fire watcher. Interesting outhouse

Another shot of the tower. It's in excellent condition. Surprisingly enough, only a small amount of vandalism has taken place. Since it's on private land, and pretty difficult to find, it hasn't been ruined like so many of the other lookouts in the Northwest. Tower in the trees

December 13, 2003 Update
It's been over six years since I originally put this Web page up. I'm now
working on a book about GPS and digital mapping and decided to try to track down the lookout
using some of the programs I'm writing about. I found it! Here's a link to an aerial photo of
the tower courtesy of TerraServer-USA (reduced size below). And if you check the topographic map, the
tower is identified as the Cascade Lookout. I live out of state now, and haven't visited
the lookout since 1997, and have no idea if it's still standing. Several years ago I did talk
to a DNR employee who said a mudslide had made the road up to the tower impassable,
so hopefully nature is lending a hand in preserving it.

July 2, 2007 Update
Time flies. It's coming up on 10 years ago since I first put this page up on the Net.
Yesterday I got an email from someone who was trying to find the lookout but ran out
of daylight on his first attempt. Since the last update above, Internet mapping technology
has improved by leaps and bounds. So I headed over to Google Maps/Earth to see if
there was any color satellite imagery that might help people find their way through the
maze of roads. No joy though, as the images for that area are pretty low-resolution.
However a quick search on Yahoo Maps found what I was looking for.
Hi-res, color, recent images of the tower. Click this link (reduced image below) and you'll see
the lookout just below and to the left of the box labeled A. Use the controls to zoom in and out.

July 30, 2007 Update
Some big news on the lookout front. First off, it's still standing and in good
shape. Greg Ryan found and visited the lookout several weeks ago and sent me these photos.

Then today I got an email from Eric Willhite of the Washington DNR with news
that the lookout is coming down.

Don't panic though.

Hancock Timber, the land owner, is giving the tower to a
preservation group that plans on disassembling the structure and rebuilding it
at a location that's accessible to the public.

Nice to hear a happy ending to the Cascade Lookout
story almost ten years later.

(Eric sent me these great photos of the lookout circa the 1960s.)

1967 - (Dig the old Mustang to the left - must have been a good road then)

1967 - Looking to the East (can you say clear-cutting, boys and girls?)

1967 - Looking to the South (fully wooded today)

1967 - Original Sign (very cool, retro)

And finally, a more current photo from July 2006

July 31, 2008 Update
I just received some sad news from Gary Weber. Within the past several weeks, the lookout has collapsed.

After the fall

It doesn't appear to be an act of vandalism. Just old age and rot.

The cab looks to have survived the fall surprisingly well, and there is still a chance it can be salvaged and restored.

Here's hoping the old lookout will rise again. And if not, one final:

"Cascade going off duty, Puget."

"Copy that Cascade. 1800. Have a good evening."

Any more news on the lookout, drop me an email
(joelm at eskimo dot com)

original photos and text by engine leader Joel - 8/28/97 home other fire stuff