How often do you find technology, invented over a century ago, still in demand today? Though satellites have largely replaced the need for Fire Lookout Towers, there remain a surprising number still being manned during summer months. And what technology do they use - the Osborne Fire Finder first invented by W.B. Osborne in 1915.
But before focusing on Osborne and his amazing invention, it's worth noting that the history of U.S. Forest Service reveals a difficult birth. The Forest Service Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as "forest reserves" managed by the Department of the Interior. Such action was highly contested by those seeking to exploit these resources for their own personal gain - and paying nothing to the public treasury to either farm, graze livestock or log timber from these lands. Thanks to the political strength of Teddy Roosevelt, the Transfer Act of 1905 transferred responsibility for management of forest reserves to what ultimately became known as the U.S. Forest Service, with Roosevelt ally Gifford Pinchot named as Chief Forester in 1911. Large forest fires during these early days brought into serious question the future of this nascent organization. Determined to make his mark and sustain the USFS mission and organization, Pinchot established "fire protection" as job one. Timothy Egan's book The Big Burn is a great read recounting these early days of the Forest Service and the herculean efforts of both Teddy Roosevelt and Pinchot in protecting these invaluable resources for our future. No legacy is perfect, but where would we be today without their vision and determination.
Ergo, to protect from forest fires required early warning and hence the construction of fire lookouts. Osborne soon found a home for his earliest Fire Finder units but then came the Great Depression. Now demand really took off with the Civilian Conservation Corps tasked with building new Fire Lookouts throughout the country. I have yet to find a full accounting for the number of Fire Lookouts that were once constructed and manned, but they number over 8,000 in 49 states. Idaho leads the pack with over 1,000 and only Kansas was left out (must not have had a strong congressional delegation - even Rhode Island had a handful). Osborne continued to make improvements and by 1935, what you see today is what we had back then - so simple, so accurate and no electricity required.
Following is a recent picture taken at the Fremont Lookout - only a short hike from Sunrise at Mt. Rainier NP - Fire Finder still in use today.
A quick accounting shows that Judy and I have hiked to over 15 of these historic Fire Lookouts in the last couple of years. Great views and great hikes to them all. Here's what we have to look forward to - just a few to go.
Good hiking!