Fire Lookout Stations of the Intermountain West

In the summer of 1910, the largest fire in American history raged across the Idaho-Montana border, destroying roughly three million acres. What would become known as the “Big Burn” informed the public about the dangers of wildfires and molded United States Forestry Policy as we know it today. That same year, Ferdinand Silcox, who at the time was the Associate District Forester for the Forest Service, suggested the construction of fire lookout stations at high vantage points to ensure the safety of America’s precious forests.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt founded the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of the New Deal, and emphasized forest fire suppression as part of its mission. Two years later, Silcox, then the Chief of the Forest Service, enacted the “Quick-action Strategy,” which required wildfires to be under control by 10 a.m. the day after they were discovered. Lookout stations were essential to the success of these policies.

However, today’s fire suppression industry is radically different. Small natural wildfires can be healthy for ecosystems, but decades of fire prevention caused forests to become extremely dense. This means that when wildfires start, they have far too much fuel and often ravage landscapes instead of clearing the forest floor of debris, which introduces nutrients to the soil. Combined with advancements in fire-detection technology, most of America’s lookouts have since been rendered impractical. Regardless, they played a key role in the protection of the United States wilderness and the mindset around American conservation. This tour explores five fire lookout stations across the Intermountain West.