“Temperature is 69 degrees. Relative humidity is 48%. Winds from the south, 2-3 miles per hour. High Glade,” said Annelle Durham as she lowered the radio, a callout eight years in the making.

In 2018, the 85-year-old High Glade fire lookout tower burned to the ground in the Ranch Fire. Today, it's back in business, thanks to disaster funding provided to the Forest Service.

Durham, a long-time lookout who previously served at High Glade, and Aslan Mitchell, a newcomer to the work, began their seasonal shift just below 5,000 feet in the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest.

The new tools and technology at the lookout work alongside staff and radios as part of a layered detection system built for reliable fire preparedness.

This lookout provides direct fire detection and real-time weather observation from on-site staff. They communicate with emergency responders in a remote Northern California forest, where cellphone coverage is spotty at best. The staffed tower adds another set of eyes in a remote part of the forest—in coordination with cameras, dispatch centers, aerial patrols and community reporting.

Fire lookouts are a long-standing tradition on the Mendocino National Forest. Thanks to local public support, disaster funding, and perseverance, the High Glade Lookout was rebuilt in 2025.

And this summer, staff are prepared to detect wildfires and help protect the mountains and communities around Clear Lake in Northern California.

Rebuilding after fire

In July 2018, the Ranch Fire swept through the southern half of Mendocino National Forest. Together with the River Fire, the Mendocino Complex burned for over three months and was the largest wildfire in the state’s history at that time. And in its path? A 1930s historic lookout, three hours east of San Francisco, in the North Coast Range of California.

(left) Historic photo of the original High Glade Lookout tower built in the 1930s. (right) The High Glade Lookout on the Mendocino National Forest the day after it burned up in the 2018 Ranch Fire. (Left: Forest Service photo; right: Forest Service photo by Terry Nickerson)

The newly rebuilt High Glade Lookout honors both the past and the present. While built to modern safety and structural standards, it’s essentially the same size and shape as the previous structure—a 10-by-10-foot square cabin, atop a 35-foot steel tower.

 The new building offers modern conveniences, like power and running water. And a heavy-duty cable runs from the top of the tower to the ground, protecting the building from lightning strikes during storms.

The rebuilt High Glade Lookout on the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California, June 1, 2026. The new building provides modern standards, like power, running water and lightning-strike protection. (right) View from inside the cabin at High Glade Lookout on the Mendocino National Forest, June 2026. An Osborne Fire Finder sits ready to help detect fire starts. (Forest Service photos by Laura Leidner)

Cameras are also installed at High Glade for remote monitoring and are visible online. On-site staff contribute real‑time context and communication with emergency responders. Together, modern technology and traditional lookout methods give dispatchers and emergency responders a more complete picture of emerging incidents, helping protect forests and communities.

On the lookout

Since June, Durham, who has served as the long-time lookout, has been training Mitchell.

“I’m excited to be here,” said Mitchell. “I have always wanted to be a lookout.”

On their inaugural shift in the new lookout, Durham and Mitchell unboxed supplies. They turned on power and water, recorded weather, and transmitted information over the radio. They were ready and alert.

“Through communication with the forest’s dispatch center, you are tied into a network of firefighters across the region,” said Malcom Lane, a long-time fire lookout on Mendocino’s Anthony Peak, about 45 miles north of High Glade. “It can be stressful.”

Lookouts make observations from the tower in all directions every 15 minutes, noting any changes in weather or potential smoke. They report any new fire starts by radio. These regular scans supplement modern wildfire cameras and detection systems, ensuring multiple ways to spot and verify smoke.

As frontline communicators, fire lookouts also greet the public, answer questions, provide directions and, during hunting season, validate deer tags.

“You either have what it takes to be a lookout, or you don’t,” Lane said.

Fire lookout history on the Mendocino National Forest

Lookouts on the forest began in the 1930s when they were built to detect smoke. In an era before radio communication, as many as 30 lookouts dotted across the forest. These lookouts, strategically placed on mountains with 360-degree views, were designed as a system to triangulate and pinpoint locations of new fire starts.

During World War II, the forest’s lookouts were used year-round to watch for enemy aircraft and balloon bombs, according to Bob Weaver, the Upper Lake District archeologist.

While lookouts once formed the backbone of detection across the forest, today the Forest Service relies on a mix of technology, partnerships and strategically placed and staffed towers.

Today, only three lookouts remain on the Mendocino National Forest: Anthony Peak, Pine Mountain, and the newly rebuilt High Glade. Anthony Peak is staffed each year from May to October. Pine Mountain is a summer recreation rental.

This season, Forest Service staff are excited to return to the High Glade Lookout. To serve as one piece of a broader system of fire detection tools, to keep communities safe.

“Visitors are welcome to the lookout,” Durham said. “But please make sure to get the staff’s attention before heading up the tower’s stairs. No one likes surprises—especially when you’re scanning for fires.”