WYOMING — As fires still burn this September, the historic fire lookout towers in Wyoming might not be used, but many continue to stand as they have since the first half of the twentieth century.
According to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), in 1910 there were devastating fires in Idaho, Montana and Washington known as “When the Mountains Roared” that were the impetus for the organization of a fire lookout network in the U.S. The USFS confirms that event burned more than three million acres and killed 85 people.
By the late 1930s, over 5,000 fire lookout towers were constructed across the country. These towers provided seasonal homes for individuals or couples who spent their days observing the landscape to spot smokes that could indicate the beginning of a wildfire.
Fire lookouts were also a unique and early space for women to enter into the government workforce. Smithsonian Magazine previously reported that many women pioneered these remote positions, and are heavily infused into this history along with men.
“Before American women were granted the right to vote or allowed to have bank accounts in their name, they were trekking into forests alone, manning lookout stations and helping to save millions of acres of wilderness from wildfires across the country,” Smithsonian Magazine says.
The use of fire lookouts reached a peak around 1938, but the USFS records show that by the 1950s only a few hundred lookouts were still in service. The USFS suggests that after World War II, advancements in technology that included infra-red detection, airplanes and helicopters rendered the lookout network less useful.
Today, many fire lookouts across the U.S. are no longer in commission. A number are available to hike to and rent for overnight trips through the USFS.
The National Park Service (NPS) confirms that numerous fire lookouts were developed on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF); the BTNF fire lookout network — expanded during the later years of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s and the early 1940s — brought what the NPS calls “the feverish construction of fire lookouts” on both the Bridger and Teton National Forests of the time. Now, none on the BTNF remain manned.
According to the NPS, the BTNF saw the abandonment of all its fire lookout towers after the early 1970s as airplane patrols became favored and more frequent. Most have “collapsed, been transformed into radio repeaters, been torched to prevent squatters or are in very poor condition due to neglect, exposure or vandalism.”
Fire lookouts on the BTNF included:
Deadline Ridge Fire Lookout (formerly known as Castle Fire Lookout)
While not much is known about Deadline Ridge Fire Lookout, the NPS notes it was moved sometime before 1955 to the BTNF from an unknown original location and eventually after its decommission became converted to a radio repeater support structure.
Monument Ridge Fire Lookout
Monument Ridge Fire Lookout was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the NPS history shows that its low elevation site was chosen by the USFS in the 1930s for its full view of the entire Hoback Ranger District, with a 360-degree view of the Wyoming, Gros Ventre and Wind River ranges.
This lookout and Deadline are the only two lookouts on the BTNF with no long hike or horseback ride required to visit.
Prospect Peak Fire Lookout
Constructed in 1941, one of at least eight constructed that year, Prospect Peak Fire Lookout has been considered by the NPS to be one of the most intact lookouts on the BTNF.
Wyoming Peak Fire Lookout
Wyoming’s highest lookout at 11,383 feet, Wyoming Peak Fire Lookout is in what the NPS calls “advanced stages of structural decay.” Before this wood cabin, the history of lookouts on Wyoming Peak originally saw stone observation “towers” and tent structures where water had to be hauled five miles up a steep trail from a spring.
The cabin lookout was built by the USFS in the early 1930s to provide more protection from lightning and storms. It was in operation for 23 years and was abandoned in 1957 in favor of airplane use.
Deadman Fire Lookout (formerly known as Greyfall Fire Lookout)
Deadman Fire Lookout was constructed by the CCC on what the NPS defines as an extremely remote location, straddling a 10,000-foot knife ridge. Its location is inaccessible to helicopters delivering personnel and equipment due to safety concerns.
In 2000, the lookout almost burned when a fire spread over the west ridge, but it passed right over the structure.
