Lookouts rise again

Last fall’s devastating wildfires have given new impetus to a very old firefighting weapon: lookout towers. Long abandoned for satellites and spotter planes, some of Southern California’s classic towers are on their way back.

The fires pointed to the need for more vigilance in the backcountry, something the Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Assn. is aiming to provide with a campaign to restore and staff the original 23 fire lookouts in the San Gabriel Mountains. The organization, which includes ex-firefighters, forest service employees and outdoor enthusiasts, all volunteering their time, has restored three vintage lookouts to date.

The restoration effort was launched by George and Pam Morey, window supply workers who live in Crestline. They believe that bringing the lookouts back to life is important to fight fires and preserve these historic sites. “We knew how important it was to have eyes on the forest,” says Pam. “A spotter plane can’t give you an exact location of the smoke,” George adds.

The Moreys’ love of lookouts began when a friend tried to recruit them as volunteers at the Strawberry Peak site in the San Bernardino Mountains. As they gazed out over the forest, they could see their cabin in the distance and they heard the call. They joined up and soon became known for their restoration skills. But it was the Mt. Hawkins Lookout, with its 30-foot wooden tower, classic fire posters, brass instrumentation and panoramic view of the backcountry in the Angeles Crest, that inspired their mission to revive as many of the old structures as possible.

The original fire towers were built in the 1920s and ‘30s. Called cabs, they were crafted like ship’s cabins, with built-in cabinets for supplies and neat bunks for all-night stays. The Moreys found that restoring the towers required detailed knowledge of period woodworking techniques. “The wooden floorboards had to be re-milled for replacement,” says Pam, describing their first restoration project at Mt. Vetter. Built in 1935, it’s still in operation and is the most accessible of the lookouts. Five tall windows on each wall offer a 360-degree view of the Angeles Crest backcountry. The main feature is an original brass and nickel Osborne Firefinder, which sits in the center of the cab, ready to zero in on a fire. The device, designed in 1920, pinpoints the source of smoke by a process of triangulation. “It locates a fire right on the money,” says George.

The Moreys threw themselves next into the tower at South Mt. Hawkins, working on weekends for the better part of a year to bring back the full luster of this 1920s gem. But after all the work, nature had the last word. In the summer of 2002 a quick-moving fire destroyed the tower. “It broke our hearts,” says Pam.

But the Moreys remain undaunted and plan to rebuild it to its former splendor. They’re hoping to raise $85,000 to reconstruct the tower. Besides rebuilding the structures, the Moreys also train and staff lookouts in the San Gabriels during fire season. Volunteers get 19 hours of training in spotting fires, natural history, lookout operations and wind conditions. From June to November, 80 volunteers rotate day shifts.

“The volunteer spirit is fantastic -- people come in on their days off,” says Mark McIntyre, archeologist for the Angeles National Forest. “If a human calls in only one fire ahead per year, that’s a help,” he says.

After last season’s fires, people seem receptive to rebuilding historic lookouts. At a San Dimas street fair, right below Mt. Hawkins, several people offered contributions at the Moreys’ Lookout Assn. booth.

One of the Moreys’ main goals is to get visitors to come up and visit the lookouts, to feel for themselves the spirit of these highflying outposts and take in the horizon-to-horizon views. The restored Mt. Vetter lookout opens to the public this Memorial Day weekend, the official start of fire season.