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LOOKOUTS IN SANDERS COUNTY

It's hard to believe there were 82 lookouts in Sanders County. As a matter of fact, Montana's first two Forest Service lookouts were built in Sanders County. The first lookout stations to be established were Squaw Peak and Mount Silcox.

There are a multitude of fire lookout designs and types used over the years. Very early lookouts were constructed mostly of wood or logs and didn't follow any uniform design as they were made with whatever materials were on the site at the time. One instance is crow's nests. They would find an enormously tall tree, nail cross pieces of wood to it to form a ladder and build a small platform towards the top for the lookout person to stand. The lookout person stayed in a tent (camp) on the ground. L-4 cab was by far the most popular live-in lookout. It was a 14x14' wood frame cab, windows all around and either sitting on the ground or atop pole or timber towers up to 100 feet high.

Here's a partial list of lookouts that were built in our county:

• Andy's Knob – 14 miles WSW, Thompson Falls. 30-foot pole tower built in 1934, destroyed in 1957.

• Berray Mountain – 10 miles NNW of Noxon. It was first used in 1931 and had a log cabin for the fire spotter to live and a 20 foot observation platform. It was replaced in 1940 with a 50-foot tower and L-4 cab. It is presently a 30-foot timber tower with a R-6 flat cab. It was staffed from 1931 to the early 1970s and is now on the National Historic Lookout Register.

• Big Hole Peak – 13 miles E of Thompson Falls. It was a L-4 cab built in 1930 and was abandoned in the 70s. It was rebuilt in 2019 and is now available for rent on the Recreational Rental program. This lookout was wrapped with a fire protective blanket in 2016 because of the Copper King fire.

• Mount Bushnell – 8 miles S of Thompson Falls on the Sanders/Mineral County Line. It was built in 1931 and had a gabled L4 cab. Destroyed in 1958.

• Clark Mountain – 4 miles SE of Thomson Falls. Built in 1934, 20-foot pole L-4 tower. Staffed until 1969, destroyed in 1970.

• Cougar Peak – 10 miles N of Thompson Falls. Established in 1930 with a L-4 cab, replaced in 1952. Last staffed in the mid-1980s. In 1995 the Passport in Time project re-roofed the lookout and replaced or repaired windows and door. Now available for rent on the Recreational Rental program. The lookout was wrapped in 2017 with a fire protective blanket during the Deep Creek fire which was a good thing – the devil danced all around the lookout – but it survived.

• Cow Camp (Calico) – Established in 1936 it consisted of a camp (tent) and a crow's nest in a tall Ponderosa pine. Abandoned in the late 30s. The tree burned in a 2016 forest fire.

• Dad's Peak – 12 miles N of Noxon. L-4 cab built in 1931, abandoned in the 1940s and collapsed under heavy snow in 1971.

• Dixie Peak – 16 miles WNW of Thompson Falls. A gabled L-4 cab atop rick piers built in 1931, removed in 1955.

• Driveway Peak – 10 miles W of Thompson Falls. 1929 crow's nest, 1939 log cabin (still there in 90s), 1939 50-foot pole with a L-4 cab. Destroyed in 1978.

• Eddy Peak – 8 miles SE of Thompson Falls. 1931 L-4 cab, 1982 concrete flat cab. It is still manned.