REGIONS: ORIGIN SITE ~ North Central WA, RE-LO SITE ~ North Central WA
The 2cnd Chiliwist Butte’s Lookout L-4 cab was moved to Leecher Mountain and installed on a new 41’ tower to become the current Leecher Mountain Lookout. This is a good example of a Type 3 Re-Location where a lookout structure that is no longer to be used at the Origin Site is re-located to a new site to still be used in fire detection. The Leecher Mountain Lookout is being staffed each fire season and is on the Standing Lookouts of Washington (SLOW93) list.
The Chiliwist Butte description on the FFLA website (firelookout.org) includes the following: “A crow’s nest was developed here in 1934, along with an L-5 cab for living quarters. A 30′ treated timber L-4 was built in 1939, and the L-5 cab was moved to Jackass Butte. In 1954, the L-4 cab atop the tower was moved to the new tower atop Leecher Mountain.”
It is interesting that parts of both of the lookouts that had been atop Chiliwist Butte were moved to be used in building a fire lookout at a second location.
This photo, captioned “Chiliwist Butte Lookout – 1942- and – Crows Nest”, shows both the 2nd 30’ L-4 tower lookout and the 1st Crow’s Nest Lookout with its L-5 living quarters on Chiliwist Butte before the L-5 was re-located.
The Leecher Mountain Lookout history is complicated as it has been both the ORIGIN SITE for several re-locations as well as the RE-LO SITE for the Chiliwist #2 cab. The entry on the FFLA website (firelookout.org) reads: “The first lookout on Leecher Mountain was a 1920 tree top crow’s nest which is still there. In 1921 a Sears windmill tower with a 6’x6′ cab was constructed, and a ground house living quarters added in 1922. In 1941, a live-in L-4 on an 11′ timber tower was built and the windmill tower moved to the Twisp Smokejumper Base for use as a training loft. The present L-4 on a 41′ tower was moved there from Chiliwist in 1954. The lookout has been recently renovated.”
The Leecher Mountain Lookout is now staffed by Lightning Bill Austin who had previously served as the Goat Peak Lookout. An article in the July-August, 2014 Washington Trails magazine described his move. It reads in part:
“Lightning Bill” Moves From Goat Peak to Leecher Lookout
“Those longing to catch a glimpse of U. S. Forest Service lookout legend “Lightning Bill” Austin will find him in a new spot this year. After a 19-year tenure at Goat Peak in Mazama, Austin has been reassigned to the Leecher Mountain Lookout southeast of Twisp. The move comes amid a shrinking Forest Service budget and shifting firefighting resources……..As of mid-June, Austin has settled into the Leecher Mountain Lookout and is ready for visitors. …”
Then lightning started four wildfires in the Methow River Valley on July 14, 2014. They soon merged to form the huge Carleton Complex Fire which eventually burned over 256,000 acres. When the Carleton fire spread and threatened the Leecher Mountain Lookout, Lightning Bill was forced to leave Leecher and was moved back to Goat Peak.
From Ron Kemnow’s washingtonlookouts.weebly.com ~ “July 17, 2014: The lookout was evacuated by helicopter, flames from the Carleton Complex Fire had effectively surrounded the lookout making escape unsure at a later time. The lookout was not re-staffed as a primary lookout this season.”
The Carleton Complex Fire provides another tie between Leecher Mountain and Chiliwist Butte. By July 19, 2014, winds had pushed the fire over 15 miles to the Okanogan River where it burned over Chiliwist Butte and nearby ranches. Homes were destroyed and residents evacuated to the nearby town of Malott.
Chiliwist Butte #2 L-4 Cab Moved to Leecher Mountain
Our visits to Leecher Mountain, the RE-LO SITE for the 2nd Chliliwist LO L-4 Cab
Our first visit to Leecher Mountain was on June 4, 2015. We drove through burned over areas, evidence of the 2014 Carleton Complex fire. Heavy downpours had helped douse the fire in August, 2014, but they had also caused mudslides. The lookout access road had been badly damaged by these mudslides in several places, but we were able to drive to a closed gate located 1.2 miles from the lookout. We walked the road from the gate through a mix of live and fire-killed trees. The lookout was not being manned. The shutters were down and the access to the catwalk was locked.
The lookout was not staffed in 2015. The shutters were down protecting the windows. The hatch to the catwalk was locked, so we made our observations from near the top of the lookout steps. The effects of the 2014 Carleton Complex fire could be seen. The grasses had come back, bur fire-killed trees could be seen in many directions. The red and grey trees showed how close the fire had come to the lookout.
We re-visited the Leecher Mountain Lookout on September 9, 2017. The lookout was now being staffed again. We found Lightning Bill back in his “office in the sky” and enjoyed a good visit with him. Bill told us that he had spent 19 years on Goat Peak and that he hoped to serve as a lookout 19 years on Leecher Mountain before retiring.
Our visit to Chiliwist Butte, the ORIGIN SITE for the Jackass Butte LO ~ 7/25/2021
We hiked to visit the Chiliwist Butte Lookout Site, the origin of two re-located lookouts. Our route was by way of a good gravel road, primitive roads and an off-trail-open country hike. There were two gates along the way. The first gate is often open, but it was gated when we visited. This added over 3 miles and 650’, round-trip, to the distance reported by others. Our round-trip hike was about 7 miles with 1800’ gain.
We reached the second locked gate. A sign here recommended parking at this point because the road beyond gets rough and is best only for high-clearance 4WD vehicles. Our route next followed this primitive road before we struck off cross-country toward the Chiliwist Lookout Site.
There were open views in all directions from Chiliwist Butte.
