Little Boxes on the Hillside: An Inventory and Analysis of Wildfire Lookout Structures in the Pacific Northwest Region 06 of the United States Forest Service

Abstract

374 pagesFire watchmen have been employed by the United States Government to serve as guardians over the Nation's timber since before the establishment of the USDA Forest Service, originally the National Forest Reserves, at the turn of the 20th Century. Very early in its history, the Forest Service realized the value of providing an enclosed space or shelter for their firewatchers. This led to the advent of two types of lookout structures-Live-in and Observation-only-expressed through 16 different architectural styles. With the advancement of technology, it is no longer economically feasible for the Forest Service to employ fire watchmen at every established patrol point. Steadily over time, the Forest Service began to abandon or decommission their lookout structures while at the same time converted certain lookouts into profitable recreation rentals or communication relay sites. Several different departments and specialties within the Forest Service actively manage lookout structures including Fire, Recreation, Heritage, Facilities, and Special Uses; however, Region 6 does not have the means to manage every lookout. The goal of this Terminal Project is to provide a single document that all departments within the Forest Service can use to make a holistic assessment of the remaining lookout structures and use as a tool to determine which lookouts to invest in, which ones to nominate for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and which ones to decommission. This is achieved through three means by providing: 1) An historic context that outlines the history and character defining features for the different lookout styles, 2) An inventory for all 17 Forest units, and 3) Metrics to help guide preservation efforts and maximize use. The Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) of the Forest Service has 173 standing lookouts within its administrative boundary-52 of which are in Washington, 119 in Oregon, and two in Idaho. Of the 173 total lookouts, only 139 are actively managed