Fire lookout

A fire lookout is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a good view of the surrounding terrain, to spot smoke caused by a wildfire.

Once a possible fire is spotted, so-called "Smoke Reports", or "Lookout Shots" are relayed to the local Emergency Communications Center (ECC), often by radio or phone. A fire lookout can use a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder to obtain the radial in degrees off the tower, and the estimated distance from the tower to the fire.

Part of the lookout's duties include taking weather readings and reporting the findings to the Emergency Communications Center throughout the day. Often several lookouts will overlap in coverage areas and each will “shoot” the same smoke, which the ECC will use triangulation from the radials reported to achieve a very accurate location of the fire.

Once ground crews and fire suppression aircraft are active in fire suppression, the Lookout personnel continue to search for new smoke plumes which may indicate spotting and alterations that pose risks to ground crews. As trained fire observers, personnel staffing the fire lookout keep an eye out for any fire or weather behavior that could compromise the safety of those on the fire line.

Working in a fire lookout tower in the middle of a wilderness area takes a hardy type of person, one who can work with no supervision, and is able to survive for days, weeks, or months without any other human interaction. Some towers are accessible by automobile, but others are so remote a lookout must hike in, or be lifted in by helicopter. In many locations, even modern fire lookout towers do not have electricity or running water. Lookouts are known for their imaginative recipes in creating their meals.

Most fire lookout jobs are seasonal through the fire season. Fire Lookouts can be paid-staff or volunteer-staff. Some volunteer organizations around the United States have started to rebuild, restore and operate aging fire lookout towers.

Countries that still use fire lookouts

*USA
*Canada (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C.)
*Mexico
*Uruguay
*Brazil
*Australia
*New Zealand
*Indonesia
*France
*Italy
*Portugal
*Spain
*Germany
*Latvia
*Israel
*South Africa

Notable fire lookouts

* Hallie Daggett - First USFS woman Fire Lookout
* Helen Dowe - Devil's Head Lookout at Pike National Forest (1918)
* Ramona Merwin & family - Vetter Mountain, raised her family in the lookout
* Howard "Razz" Gardner & Keith V. Johnson "The Lookout Air Raid" a little known Japanese aircraft attack of Oregon, USA during World War II

Famous fire lookouts

Famous people who have worked as fire lookouts include:
* Jack Kerouac, whose books "The Dharma Bums", "Desolation Angels" and "Lonesome Traveler" include accounts of his job as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascades during the summer of 1956.
* Edward Abbey, who was a fire lookout at Mt. Harkness (1966; Lassen National Park), Atacosa (1968; Coronado National Forest), North Rim (1969-1971; Grand Canyon National Park), Numa Ridge (1975; Glacier National Park), and Aztec Peak (1977-1979; Tonto National Forest).
* Doug Peacock, who was a fire lookout at Huckleberry and Scalplock in Glacier National Park from 1976 to 1984.
* Gary Snyder, who was a fire lookout at Crater Peak and Sourdough Mountain in the North Cascades.
* Philip Whalen, who was a fire lookout on Sourdough Mountain and Sauk Mountain in the North Cascades.

Additional information

* [http://www.firetower.org/content.html Fire lookout registry]
* [http://rntl.net/mttam.htm California Fire Lookouts]
* [http://www.cpwf.org/fire/lookout.html Lookout Charley, a online photo weblog of a USFS Volunteer Fire Lookout at Vetter Mountain, California]

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/ontarioftl Ontario's Fire Tower Lookouts: Preserving their history]
* [http://www.anffla.org Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association (Los Angeles, CA)]
* [http://www.firelookout.org Forest Fire Lookout Association]
* [http://scrif.igeo.pt/ASP/postosmapa.asp Portugal Fire Tower Lookouts- click on the dots]