Standing Watch – The Ongoing Tradition of Fire Lookouts

By Jamie Hinrichs
Pacific Southwest Region
October 6, 2023

The importance of fire lookouts in early fire detection is as old as the U.S. Forest Service. The term “lookout” even does double duty as shorthand for both the structure and the person who staffs the tower. In recent years, camera stations and other innovative technologies have been enhancing efforts to detect the first signs of smoke. But human-staffed fire lookout towers still play an essential role — thanks to the commitment of new recruits and long-serving returnees.

Just ask newcomer Maxwell Psaledakis on the Tahoe National Forest at the Duncan Peak Fire Lookout, his home for the season. This fire tower is giving Psaledakis a new perspective on the forest where he spends free time recreating.

“Lookouts are important because they provide eyes in the sky. They have the ability to see things that others may not, which in a wildfire setting is mission critical. You can alert folks to hazards in the area.”

Depending on access, lookouts may spend many days living full-time in the tower. Most are equipped with refrigerators, stoves and running water. Some lookouts bring books. Others pack musical instruments. A few even gather up all the ingredients for cinnamon buns. A tower become a home away from home, while the watcher even cares for the structure.

“It's akin to being a lighthouse keeper. I am spotting fire and maintaining this historic building. It's a piece of U.S. history.”

This history lives in the tower itself, as an architectural archive with the memories of the smoke watchers themselves. This is especially true for long-serving lookouts like Vickie Lamoureux. She’s staffing the Harvey Mountain Fire Tower this year on the Lassen National Forest, which marks her 42nd summer as a lookout.

Over four decades, her commitment to this calling has taken her to the Tahoe, Plumas, Shasta-Trinity and Lassen national forests. She can still list all the towers she’s worked in by name.

“They're all like your kids. I love Harvey Mountain because the night sky is dark and beautiful and I'm close to a wildlife refuge right here. All kinds of wildlife come through.”

At this and other towers, she has tales of porcupine escapades, seasonal elk migrations, and squeaky pika serenades. But most spectacular of all for her is the mountain-top experience of the weather.

“I’m in it for the lightning,” said Lamoureux. “I like the wind and the sunrises and the sunsets and feeling the different weather. The dampness and the dryness. It's just great.”

In addition to the joy of this deeper connection with forest landscapes, work as a lookout requires devotion to observation and teamwork. Over time, a lookout grows accustomed to reading the subtle signs of smoke and gains confidence in broadcasting those observations to fire personnel, who respond to the incident. This is part of what’s kept her current season feeling as meaningful and exciting as her first.

“My first season, I remember telling somebody, ‘It’s the best job in the world!’ and I can still say that. I'm lucky to have found something that I love to do. I never complained about having to go to work. I couldn't wait to get up here! And I work with such dedicated folks.

“This whole fire detection, prevention, suppression — this is a team. We're working with the dispatchers, helicopters, air tankers, hand crews, engine crews, dozers and the water tenders. We're the ones who find the fire, then off they go.”