Are fire watch towers still used?

At their peak, 625 fire lookout towers stood watch in California. Today, just 198 remain and only 50 of those are staffed — largely by volunteers — according to the Forest Fire Lookout Association.

Can you live in a lookout tower?

At present, there are at least 85 lookout towers in the U.S. that you can rent overnight. Some are in National Forests; some are in state parks; and some are on USDA Forest Service land.

How many lookout towers are there?

A survey by the Forest Fire Lookout Association estimates that only about 300 fire lookout towers are still manned today, many by volunteers.

What are fire lookouts called?

fire watcher
A fire lookout (partly also called a fire watcher) 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.

Do fire watch towers have Internet?

We don’t have cable television or high-speed internet. We get paid to look out the window all day.” Almost all are manned by just one person but some have couples, such as Chuck Manning, 71, head of the Northwest Montana chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, and his wife.

Why are fire towers not used anymore?

Today, some fire lookout towers remain in service, because having human eyes being able to detect smoke and call in the fire report allows fire management officials to decide early how the fire is to be managed. The more modern policy is to “manage fire”, not simply to suppress it.

Can you sleep in a fire lookout tower?

You can reserve a night or two in many of these lookout towers via Recreation.gov; have a look at available options with this handy Forest Fire Lookout Association list. Quite a few of these fire tower rentals are in high demand, so you’d be wise to book your stay as soon as reservations are open.