What’s a Re-Located Lookout?
Many fire lookouts that were no longer considered useful in fire detection were destroyed in place. Others, the Re-Located Lookouts, were moved to a new location where they were used for other purposes. Some of these, the Type 1 Re-Located LOs, were given or sold to towns or public museums to be displayed to the public. Others, the Type 2 Re-Located LOs, were sold to private lookout fans who moved them to their private property. Another few, the Type 3 Re-Located LOs, were moved to a second location where they continued to be used in fire detection. There were plans to move several others, but these moves failed. I called these failures the Type 4 Re-Locations. Each re-location involves two sites; 1) the Origin Site where it was used in fire detection and 2) the Re-Location Site it was moved to. In some cases the re-located LO was later destroyed.
TYPE 1 ~ LOs SOLD OR GIVEN FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY
| ORIGIN LOOKOUT | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT ORIGIN? | LOOKOUT MOVED TO (RE-LO LOOKOUT LOCATION) | RE-LOCATED LO STILL THERE? | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT RE-LO? |
| Salmon River Lookout | Yes. Quinault Indian Nation | Buckley Foothills Museum | Yes | No |
| Deming Lookout | No | Forks Timber Museum | Yes | No |
| Rainier Tower | Yes. Fort Lewis (JBLM) | IslandWood Outdoor Education Center | Yes. Lookout has been extensively re-built | Yes. (islandWood Trail Days) |
| Stampede Pass Lookout | No | Camp Waskowitz ~ Highline School District out door Education Center | Yes | Yes. Contact Camp Waskowitz |
| National Lookout | No | Apparently retained by the DNR to be exhibited at WA Fairs. The 1st was at the 1965 SW WA Fair in Centralia. (A newspaper article claimed that it was to be a Camp 6 exhibit, but this is unlikely.) | Unknown. the last reported sighting was in 1985 at the DBR’s old storage compound in Lacy. (Ray Kresek) | Unknown |
| East Flattop Lookout upper story cab | No | Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center. | Yes | No |
| Badger Mountain Lookout | No | Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center. | Yes | No |
| Chelan Butte Lookout | No | Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center. | Yes | No |
| Franson Peak Lookout #2 | No | Molson Museum | Yes. The lookout cab is in the field outside the museum. | No |
| Graves Mountain Lookout | No | Stevens County Historical Society Museum | Yes, The lookout is on a hill at the top of the museum grounds. | No |
| Stranger Mountain Lookout #4 | No | Northeast Washington Fairgrounds | Yes. the lookout cab is on a 10′ tower on the fairgrounds. | No |
| Stranger Mountain Lookout #2 | No | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Porcupine Mountain Lookout | Yes. Weyerhauser | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Mount Annie Lookout. | No | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Buckhorn Mountain Lookout | Yes. The site is on property owned by a mining company. | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Mount Hull Lookout | No | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Cee Cee Ah (CCA) Lookout | No | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Turnbull Lookout | Yes. On restricted area of Turnbull Wildlife Refuge | One of 7 lookouts providing parts used in building Ray’s Lookout at Ray’s Fire Lookout Museum | Yes. Ray’s Lookout is still at the Fire Museum. | Yes. Phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| North Baldy Lookout | No | Tower moved to Big Meadow Lake | Yes. Tower was rebuilt as a wildlife viewing tower. | No |
| First Thought Lookout | No | Orient Community Park | Yes | No |
| Flagstaff Lookout | No | Northport Boat Launch Park | Yes | No |
| Mount Spokane (Last Lookout) | No | Quartz Mountain in Mount Spokane State Park | Yes. In State Park Rental Program. On SLOW93 list. | no, but honor privacy of renters. |
| Newport Replica Lookout | No | An L-4 cab was built to USFS plans at the Pend O’Reille County Museum. It was never used for fire detection. | Yes. On display on the museum grounds, | Museum ticket |
TYPE 2 ~ LOs SOLD TO PRIVATE PARTIES AND NOW ARE ON PRIVATE LAND.
| ORIGIN LOOKOUT | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT ORIGIN? | LOOKOUT MOVED TO (RE-LO LOOKOUT LOCATION) | RE-LOCATED LO STILL THERE? | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT RE-LO? |
| Blyn Lookout | No | Lake Beausite private property | Yes. Now Jefferson County Park leased to the Kiwanis’s Camp Beausite NW | Yes |
| Little Summit Lookout | No | Private home near Friday Harbor | Yes. Only the glass was used from the lookout. | Yes. Private home. |
| Whitechuck Bench Lookout | No | Used as a vacation cabin near Bedal (Reece’s Hideout) | Uknown. Still being investigated | Yes. Private community |
| East Flattop Ground level | No | Private home near Chehalis | Yes. Used as a storage shed | Yes, Private home |
| Three Corner Rock Lookout | No | Private home near Friday Harbor | Yes. Used as 2nd story of a private home | Yes, Private home |
| Goat Peak (Cle Elum) Lookout | No | Private Property in Teanaway Valley | Yes | Yes. Private property |
| Lorena Butte Lookout | Yes. Site now a working mine. | Moved 1/2 mile to private ranch property on Lorena Butte | Yes. The lookout is on the SLOW93 list. | Yes. Private property. LO can be rented for the night. |
| Slide Ridge Lookout | No | It is said to have been “sold and removed in 1939”. No other location info was given. | Unknown. Still being investigated. | Unknown |
| Buttermilk Butte Lookout | No | Private property near Twisp | Yes. It can be seen from a public road. | Yes. Private property. |
| Skull and Crossbones Lookout | No | It is said to have been “sold to a rancher & moved to Pasayten wilderness’s Horseshoe Basin. | No. Apparently destroyed in 1972. | No |
| Stranger Mountain Lookout #3 | No | Moved to private property near Fernwood, Idaho. Now for rent as Crystal Mountain Lookout, an AirBnB “luxury inn”. | Yes | Yes. For rent by the night. |
| Chewelah Peak Lookout | No | Private property near Chewelah | Yes. It can be seen from the highway. | Yes, private property. |
| Monumental Mountain Lookout | No | Private property near Colville. | Yes. Now listed as Fosback Lookout. | Yes, private property. |
| Smoothing Iron Lookout (1st move) | No | Moved to Black Ranch private property. | No. Black Ranch was later sold to Washington Depatment of Fish and Wildlife. The Lookout was moved a 2nd time. | No, but WDFW has a fence around the farm buildings. |
| Smoothing Iron Lookout (2nd move) | No, but WDFW has a fence around the farm buildings. | The cab was moved from Black Ranch to private property in Whitman County | Yes | Yes, private property. |
| Spades Mountain Lookout (Idaho) | No | first moved to Long Mountain, Idaho & then to Spokane near Ray Kresek’s Fire Lookout Museum. | Yes. Now listed as Dave’s Lookout and is include as part of the museum. | Yes, phone Ray Kresek to make an appointment. |
| Dymond Gap LO (1st move) | No | The LO was destroyed, but the ground house was moved to private property near Glenwood. | LO’s ground house house living quarters still exist. | Yes, private property. |
| Dymond Gap LO (2nd move) | Yes | The ground house was moved a 2nd time to a farm in the Glenwood Valley. | LO’s ground house house living quarters still exist. | Yes, private property. |
TYPE 3 ~ LOs MOVED TO BE USED AS LOs OR USED IN FIRE DETECTION/FIGHTING AT THE NEW LOCATION
| ORIGIN LOOKOUT | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT ORIGIN? | LOOKOUT MOVED TO (RE-LO LOOKOUT LOCATION) | RE-LOCATED LO STILL THERE? | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT RE-LO? |
| Lion Rock Lookout | No | Moved to become Sugarloaf Mountain Standing Lookout. | Yes. It is still staffed each fire season It is on the SLOW 93 list. | No |
| Leecher Mountain Lookout #2 | No | Steel tower moved to North Cascades Smokejumper’s Base for use as jump training loft. | No. Replaced in 1974. | Ask at the Base. |
| Leecher Mountain Lookout #4 | No | The L-4 ground cab was moved to Slate Peak where it was used for two years as the fire lookout there. Apparently it was then destroyed. | No? A Standing Lookout is now on Slate Peak, but it is believed that it is not the same one. | No |
| Moses Mountain Lookout #3 | Yes. Colville Reservation Use Pass | The steel tower and cab were apparently moved to Grizzly Mountain to be used as the fire lookout there. | Yes. It is still standing, but it is in bad shape. It is on the SLOW93 list. | Yes. Colville Reservation Use Pass |
| Chiliwist Butte #1 | No | The L-5 ground cab was moved to Jackass Butte to become the Jackass Butte Lookout. | No. It was later destroyed. | Yes. It is on private property. |
| Chiliwist Butte #2 | No | The L-4 cab was moved to Leecher Mountain and mounted on a 40′ tower to become the current Leecher Mountain Lookout. | Yes. It is staffed and is on the SLOW93 list. | No |
| Mica Peak Lookout | No | The lookout was moved to become the Lookout Point Lookout. | Yes. It is on the SLOW93 list. Access is by way of walking roads through a private gated community. | Access may be denied by the gated community. |
| Panther Creek Lookout | Yes. The site is on Yakama Nation Restricted Access Land. Permit likely to be denied. | The lookout was moved to become the current Signal Peak Lookout. This is also on the Yakama Nation Restricted Access Land. | Yes. It is still standing and staffed on an emergency basis. It is on the SLOW93 list. | Yes. the Yakama Tribe strictly controls access. The tribe has driven several van loads on tours to the lookout recently. |
| Galena Mountain Lookout | No | The lookout cab was moved to become the Maloney Ridge Lookout. | No | No |
| Lost Lake AWS | Walking access only. | The Aircraft Warning System cabin was moved and modified to become the 1st Dayton Peak Fire Lookout. | No | ? Driving access is denied. A walking route may be available. |
| Hobi Peak Lookout | Yes. Weyerhauser Recreation Permit. | The lookout was moved to become the Brittain Lookout. | No, the Brittain Lookout was abandoned and destroyed. | Yes. Rayonier permit. |
| Grisdale Hill (Camp 3) Lookout | No | The L-4 cab (& maybe the tower) was apparently moved to become the Denny Ahl Lookout. | No. the Denny Ahl Lookout was later abandoned and destroyed. | No. |
TYPE ~FAILED LOOKOUT RE-LOCATIONS
| ORIGIN LOOKOUT | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT ORIGIN? | LOOKOUT MOVED TO (RE-LO LOOKOUT LOCATION) | RE-LOCATED LO STILL THERE? | PERMIT REQUIRED TO VISIT RE-LO? |
| Mount Octopus Lookout | No | Re-Location to Forks Timber Museum failed. The LO was burned before the planned move. | Does not apply. | Does not apply. |
| Sekiu Lookout | No. Motorized travel prohibited. | Re-Location to Forks Timber Museum failed. The LO was burned before the planned move. | The Sekiu Lo equipment and furnishings are used in the Forks Museum LO. | Museum fee |
| Higley Peak Lookout. | No | Unknown destination. Differing tales say that it was accidentally dropped into Lake Quinault while being moved to Snohomish County Airport or to another LO site. Others say that it was successfully moved to the airport where it was used. | Unknown. Still being investigated. | Unknown |
| North Fork Bench Lookout | No | Unknown, Some speculate that this was the source for the lookout that was moved to Reese’s Hideout. (Rather than the Whitechuck bench Lookout.) | Unknown. Still being investigated. | Unknown |
| Powderhorn (Davis) Lookout | No | Ray Kresek and others wrote that it was moved to Clark College in Vancouver, WA. Rex Kamstra wrote that the project never happened. | Unknown. Still being investigated. | Unknown |
| Sweetgrass Butte Lookout | No | The lookout was sold to a private owner. It was accidentally destroyed during the move. | Does not apply. | Does not Apply |
| Big Skidder Lookout. | No | The lookout was sold to a private owner. It was accidentally destroyed during the move. | Does not apply | Does not apply |