Impressions of a Fire Lookout on a Moonful Night

[Bo Zarts]

Pinyon Peak - River of No Return Wilderness
Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho
© 2020 Bo Zarts Studio

[William Seger]

2. I was at Chimney Rock National Monument, Colorado, last weekend

... and noticed that the fire lookout tower that used to be there is gone. A ranger told me that most have been shut down across the country, replaced by remote monitoring cameras. Is the Pinyon Peak lookout still operational?

[Bo Zarts]

3. Pinyon Peak is operational, but not staffed (that I know of).

I was to staff Pinyon Peak lookout again this fire season, but I notified the USFS in March that due to my neck/back issues I would not be there this year. They decided to staff PP with firefighters from the injured list for the 2021 season. However, other lookouts in the area have told me this week that they have not heard anyone on the USFS frequencies from Pinyon Peak lookout.

I had my first surgery last week, with one or two more to go. I hope to be finished with the surgeries by Christmas, and ready for fire season 2022 in the Spring. The USFS is holding PP for me in 2022.

The ranger you talked with at Chimney Rock National Monument is partially correct. Most fire lookouts east of the Mississippi are closed .. long closed. The number of staffed lookouts in the west dwindles, but there are still quite a few operational. I have fiends working lookouts in Colorado, for example. Oregon, California, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, and Washington still have enough active lookouts to actually function as networks (crossing azimuths, confirming fire positions, etc).

The bean counters want to close lookouts. Fire management agencies (USFS, NPS, BLM, CALFIRE, and other state forestry departments) realize that there is no substitute for human judgement and experience in fire detection.