Loss of Fire Lookouts Spurs Questions About Historical Preservation
At the time, there were already 10s of fire lookouts dotting the United States; during their peak, the U.S. Forest Service managed over 8,000 staffed fire lookout towers throughout 49 states. Forest fire lookouts have actually gathered a nearly mythological existence within the American biologist tradition, in large part due to the several poets who featured fire lookouts within their work throughout the mid-20th century. Fire lookouts were put up and staffed as part of the Forest Services new fire management method: extinguish all fires as rapidly and completely as possible.
Motivated by the emotional worth they hold within the American environmental memory, groups around the United States like the Forest Fire Lookout Association have sprung up to promote for fire lookouts as websites worthy of a place on the National Register of Historic Places. They served a generation of poets, fire lookout towers likewise inhibited decades of effective fire management, allowing the rapid increase in forest fires and destruction over the last twenty years.
For years, fire lookout towers have served as a bridge in between the human eye and the surrounding landscapes. From spots high up on mountains, hikers, naturalists, and observers have been able to observe the awesome, otherwise inaccessible sights that the lookout towers offer access to– looking out at glaciers and sweeping mountain ranges, feeling fresh gusts of wind, and finding solace in the solitude that lookouts supply. As wildfires and absence of upkeep threaten fire lookouts throughout the United States, these touchpoints are quickly passing away out, taking with them a rich history of American ecological conceptions.
Highpoint Lookout, located on Palomar Mountain. Credit: Creative Commons
Fire lookout towers have a long relationship with the land they were first built to secure. At the time, there were currently tens of fire lookouts dotting the United States; throughout their peak, the U.S. Forest Service handled over 8,000 staffed fire lookout towers throughout 49 states.
Forest fire lookouts initially acted as important outposts for the females and men who expected wildfires, as they invested long hours and months looking at the horizon, watching out for smoke or other signs that might point towards a dangerous blaze. The job was, and stays, a lonesome one; the fire lookouts live in solitude in the tower, typically without any access to running water or electrical energy. In the early 20th century, spouses of forest rangers often worked as fire lookouts, as predispositions versus females in forest fieldwork forbade them from handling any other role within the Forest Service.
Hallie M. Daggett, seen here in front of Eddy Gulshs Lookout Station, was the first lady utilized by the Forest Service and worked as a fire lookout. Source: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
Forest fire lookouts have actually gathered an almost mythological existence within the American naturalist custom, in big part due to the numerous poets who included fire lookouts within their work during the mid-20th century. Gary Snyder, a decorated American author and distinguished poet whose work often focuses on themes of ecological preservation, famously invested time as a fire lookout at Crater Mountain in 1952.
San Francisco Peaks seen from the Kendrick Mountain fire lookout. Credit: Creative Commons.
Years after their prime, fire lookout towers inhabit a precarious position between use and extinction. And while their romantic appeal still captivates numerous– some fire lookout towers are now popular locations that hikers can lease out as distinct trip spots– they also serve as a physical pointer of the United States flawed relationship with fire management.
In September, among Oregons most historical towers– the Bull of the Woods lookout, located in Mount Hood National Forest– burned to the ground, despite plans to try to preserve the lookout by protecting it with fire-resistant material. Last summer, the terrible Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires declared the Bolan Mountain Lookout in South Oregon, while the still-active Scott Mountain Lookout burned down throughout the Archie Creek fire.
Prior to European colonization, fire was a recognized part of a landscapes life cycle. Native individuals used prescribed burning as an essential part of their relationship to the land. Fires that happened without human action, like those caused by lightning strikes, were also permitted to burn without intervention. European settlers began a practice of fire suppression and disallowed Indigenous burning practices. Forest fires ended up being more uncommon, however they also grew larger, which then caused an ever-intensifying strategy of restricting fires. Fire lookouts were erected and staffed as part of the Forest Services new fire management strategy: extinguish all fires as rapidly and entirely as possible.
Despite the Forest Services efforts, fires continued to grow in size and frequency. It wasnt up until the 1970s when scientific research study emerged verifying the benefits of forest fires for a forests ecology, that the Forest Service started to reassess its method to managing forest fires. Ever since, the Service has actually attempted to shift its method. Recently, Prescribed Burn Associations have started a collective effort with Indigenous peoples to help with controlled burns and to permit people to reclaim this practice.
A recommended fire at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in April, 2020. Credit: National Park Service/Jim Johnson.
What, then, to do with the hundreds of fire lookouts, left unmanned, now standing without active usage? Motivated by the psychological worth they hold within the American ecological memory, groups around the United States like the Forest Fire Lookout Association have actually sprung up to advocate for fire lookouts as sites deserving of a put on the National Register of Historic Places. Far, there are an overall of twenty-two towers on the list..
Inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places recognizes the cultural and historic significance of fire lookouts, however it does not guarantee their conservation. In an interview with GlacierHub, Erica Avrami, a professor of historic conservation at Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, described, “National Register listing does not, in and of itself, protect a site from demolition or disregard, or force long-lasting upkeep.
Marcy Rockman, who served with the U.S. National Park Service as its inaugural Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator for Cultural Resources, has written that National Register criteria permit elections of locations whose significance speaks to modern problems, such as environment modification. “To me,” Rockman stated, “this is an argument for maintaining at least a couple of lookout towers.
They served a generation of poets, fire lookout towers also hindered decades of effective fire management, allowing the fast increase in forest fires and destruction over the last twenty years. Unless fires are managed, fire lookout towers like the Bull of the Woods lookout will continue to burn, making them one more feature to vanish in the middle of the ongoing environment crisis.
