Spades Mtn Lookout relocated, via Long Mtn, to become Dave’s Lookout

Lookout Site Regions:  ORIGIN SITE ~ Idaho, RE-LO SITE ~ Northeast WA

Daves (Kresek) LO on National Historic Lookout Register ~ 11/20/1999

The second Spades Mountain Lookout was moved twice from its original location in Idaho to finally become Dave Kresek’s Lookout near Spokane Washington.  This Type 1 Re-Location is interesting for several reasons.  It could have been listed as a Type 3 Re-Location after its 1^st move as it continued to be used as a fire lookout.  It could also now have been listed as a Type 2 Re-Location as it was then moved a 2^nd time to its current location on private property.  I have chosen to list it as a Type 1 Re-Location as it has become part of the Fire Lookout Museum complex and it can be visited by prior appointment through the museum.

The 1st Spades Mountain Lookout, a 50’pole tower with 7’x 7’ cab was built by the US Forest Service in 1926.  This was then replaced by a 54’ steel tower in 1941.  When this 2^nd tower was replaced in 1963 (or 1964) the steel tower was given to the Idaho Department of Lands and moved to Long Mountain to be used as a fire lookout there.

The Long Mountain Lookout was declared surplus after not being staffed for several years in the mid-to-late 1990s .

The following articles are listed for the Long Mountain Lookout on Ron Kemnow’s web site idaholookouts.weebly.com:

1964:   46-foot Aermotor MC-40 steel tower, moved from Spades LO.

June 2, 1998:   “The State of Idaho Department of Lands offers the following for sale to the highest bidder:
      A 54′ high metal lookout tower with a 12 x 12 wood cabin.  Tower is structurally sound.  Cabin has glass damage and door missing.  Tower is located in the SWSW of Sec 28 T55N R3W B M.  Bonner County, Id.  Tower is sold ‘as is where is’ and must be removed from the site by September 30, 1998.  Access is via forest roads across USFS private and BLM property.  Any road maintenance necessary to access the tower will be the responsibility of the successful bidder.  All roads damaged must be returned to their original condition.  Successful bidder will be required to post a bond in the amount of $5,000 to insure repair of any damage caused by the removal of the tower.  No real property is included in this offer for sale.  Sales tax will be collected unless buyer can furnish exemption certificate.  Arrangements to view the tower may be made by contacting Nick Nicolls.”   (Bonner County Daily Bee)

1998:   The tower was sold to a private party and moved to a new location.

The FFLA LOOKOUT NETWORK ISSUE 9-3, SUMMER 1998 included the following article:   “Dave Kresek won the bid to purchase and move the 45′ 9″ Aermotor lookout tower from Long Mountain near Sandpoint. He paid $411 ($100.14 would have beat the next bidder, Gary Weber) to the Idaho Department of Lands after a higher bidder did not come up with the funds or the required bond. The tower will be placed on his ridgetop property outside of Spokane as an extension of the Fire Lookout Museum. “

The FFLA LOOKOUT NETWORK ISSUE 10-2, SPRING 1999 included the following article:  “ DAVE’S LOOKOUT REPORTS ITS FIRST FIRE! SPOKANE, WA., APRIL 2, 1999.  Washington’s newest fire tower, situated in the foothills district just northeast of Spokane, reported its first wildfire this evening. There was no need to call out the DNR or Fire District #9 though, for a record level of 200 inches of snow is still on the ground at all of the nearby ski resorts. By now, most members of the international Forest Fire Lookout Association are familiar with Dave’s Lookout. Originally, it was at Spades Mountain in 1941 near Coeur d’Alene, then moved to Long Mountain, Idaho in 1964. In 1998, FFLA member Dave Kresek bought it from the State, and installed the 45-foot all-steel Aermotor tower on his own property to become part of the Fire Lookout Museum complex. A large 50-foot tall larch snag that had burned in two probably a half century ago stood at the highest point. Dave wanted to use all the care in the world to preserve this outstanding wildlife snag. With the tower now up, the snag stood at eye level with the observation cab, fifty feet away. To make for a better view, ten pine and fir trees, including the two 80-footers he’d used as spar poles to raise the tower, were then felled and made into sawlogs. One more little pine was also dropped to top off the load… (the one that twisted in flight and fell right across Dave’s pickup that had hauled the tower home… smashed it flat… now his extra tractor.. an altogether other story). With all the DOE and DNR permits in hand, it was time to burn the neatly piled slash around the lookout, which of course went 10-8 for the occasion. Good thing, too. The ground was wet, the grass was green; and the piles burned down nice and neat to glowing embers just right for a good weenie roast; when, lo and behold, SMOKE! At 2010 PST the phone at the Fire Lookout Museum rang. “Hey Dad. This is Dave’s Lookout with a Fire Report”. “Yaw, go ahead.” “Azimuth: 355 degrees. Vertical Angle: -10 degrees. Distance: 50 feet.” “Huh?” A wayward spark had landed in a woodpecker hole in the two-foot thick snag and it was now blazing like a torch, forty feet up! A vintage WA-7 pumper was pulled out of mothballs, and before long 250 gallons of wet water was poured from a fire hose strung up the five flights of stairs and out a window of the fire tower. With some help from a gentle wind out of the south, enough water made it to the base of the flames to save all but the top 15 feet. This story has a happy ending. There’s plenty left of the big snag for this year’s families of woodpeckers and bluebirds to set up housekeeping. RK”

Spades Mtn LO moves to Long Mtn then to near Spokane

The 45’ steel tower lookout was built on Spades Mountain near Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho in 1941.  It was then moved to Long Mountain near Sandpoint, Idaho in 1964.  In 1998, it was sold to Dave Kresek who moved it to his property near Spokane, Washington.  It was renamed Dave’s Lookout (Kresek Lookout) and remains there today.

Our visit to Dave’s Lookout ~ 9/6/2021

Dave’s Lookout is owned by the Fire Lookout Museum in Spokane.  As the museum’s web site states: “The Museum is open to the public, by appointment, March thru November.  Phone (509) 466-9171 for tour reservations.  Admission is free. “  Peggy and I arranged our visit to the museum with Ray Kresek.  Ray welcomed us to the museum on 9/6/2021 and we spent much of the day with him as he showed us his big collection of fire lookout and fire fighting objects and mementoes.

The museum owns three lookouts and two of them are on the museum grounds in Spokane.  As the museum’s web site states:  “ A third lookout, a 46′ tall MC-40 all steel fire tower, manufactured by Aeromotor of Chicago in 1941, owned & operated by the museum, is 9 miles east.”…(The tower is)…”fully restored and furnished with lightning protection, vintage telephone, radio, firefinder, and other devices of the era.”  When we asked Ray for permission to visit this third lookout, Dave’s Lookout, he drove us out to his son’s place to see it.

We reached Dave’s Lookout. The lookout is listed as the Kresek Fire Tower on the National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR).

Ray Kresek and his son Dave have been both involved in saving and re-locating lookouts. Dave’s story is interesting since it was not the first lookout that he moved across the Washington/Idaho border. He purchased the 3rd Stranger Mountain Lookout in 1983 and moved it from near Chewelah, Washington to property that he owned near Fernwood, Idaho.

One of the lookouts in the museum in Ray’ backyard, the L-6 Fire Lookout Museum Lookout, was built out of parts reclaimed from the ruins of 7 L-6 lookouts throughout the State of Washington

We have not visited either the Spades Mountain or Long Mountain Lookout ORIGIN SITES yet.