The forest fires of 1910 in Montana, Idaho, and Washington changed how the Forest Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture, viewed forest fires. One of the innovations was the development of a series of fire lookouts, often located on mountain tops, which could spot and locate fires early. The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, in Missoula, Montana, had a display about the Forest Service.
Fire lookout towers have an effective range of about a 20-mile radius. According to one display:
“The use of fire lookouts reached a peak about 1938. At that time there were more than 800 towers in use each summer in the Northern Region. Since World War II, the number has declined sharply.”
During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built 611 fire lookout towers. Today, many of the lookouts are not needed for fire surveillance and serve as vista points for visitors.
In spotting forest fires, it is important to pinpoint it on a map so that firefighters can find it. According to the display:
“Over 100 different types of fire finders were used for pinpointing the location of fires, with the earliest and simplest versions being nothing more than a map mounted board attached to a stump, a rock pile, or a crude wooden table on the top of a mountain. These modest fire finders were often called Koch Boards, named after Elers Koch, one of the earliest USFS top level regional foresters from Missoula.”
According to the display:
“Over the decades, a multitude of fire lookout designs and types have been used. Very early lookouts were often improvised from nearby materials, built into treetops or hilltops.”
Several different standard styles were adopted.
More museum exhibit photo tours
Museums 101: Sawmill (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Missoula Smokejumpers Visitor Center (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Forest Fires in North Idaho (photo diary)
Museums 101: The Miller Lumber Sawmill (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Timber Industry (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Timber Industry on the Oregon Coast (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Washington timber industry (photo diary)
Museums 101: Ranch and Sawmill (Photo Diary)