by Robert Sorrell (Author)

Fire lookout towers have graced the highest peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains for more than a century. Early mountaineers and conservationists began constructing lookouts during the late 1800s. By the 1930s, states and the federal government had built thousands of towers around the country, many in the Blue Ridge. While technology allowed forestry services to use other means for early detection of fires, many towers still stand as a testament to their significance. Author Robert Sorrell details the fascinating history of the lookouts in the Blue Ridge's forests

by Richard H. Holm Jr. (Author)

Over one hundred years ago with the formation of the United States Forest Service in 1905 the idea of the fire lookout network was born. In the 2.3 million acres of land comprised in today's Payette National Forest over one hundred fire lookout locations were used to protect the forest from fires. Recently only thirteen of those lookouts are in use. After many years of research the history of each fire lookout site is reveled through the stories of people who staffed, stocked, and built them. Also included is a general history of the fire lookout network on the Payette as related to Forest Service fire policy in the four northwestern states. Bringing the text to life is an amazing collection of over 270 black and white photographs of this spectacular region, which extends from the depths of Hells Canyon to the remote Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.