MOUNT HARRISON INTERPRETIVE AREA
FIRE LOOKOUTS
HISTORICAL ROLE
The role of the Fire lookout is to detect and report forest fires. Lookout towers have been used
in the United States for almost 100 years. The very first fire lookout tower in Idaho was built in 1902.
Lookout assignments were considered remote, risky, and lonely. The Mount Harrison Lookout,
9280 feet above sea level, was constructed in 1977.
CURRENT ROLE
Today, the role of the lookout hasn't really changed. In fact, most of the original tools are
still in use. Lookouts still use maps, compass, binoculars, two-way radios, and the Osborne
Fire Finder. The fire finder works much like the sight on a gun. This allows the lookout to pinpiont the exact location of a fire and relay this information to fire fighters. Wildland fire is most often started by lightning.
As lightning approaches, the lookout in the tower sits or stands on a wooden stool with glass legs. Wood and glass are poor
conductors of electricity and help protect the lookout from a shocking experience.
FIRE ECOLOGY
Wildland fires are an important natural process throughout the western United States. Because burned
areas appear destroyed, fire is often regarded as being harmful to the environment. The opposite is often
true, however, since fire can provide benefits including: the removal of undesirable plants and
brushy undergrowth, the treatment of insects and disease, the release of nutrients into the soil
and stimulating the growth of native plant communities. Wildland supperssion is necessary in
high-fuel areas where fire could destroy entire plant communities, wildlife habitat, homes, or
other developments
