A Vanishing Breed : Technology Edging Out Forest Service Lookouts

Betty Carlson is one of a vanishing breed.

Every year for the past quarter of a century, the French Gulch resident has trekked to the top of Bonanza King Mountain northeast of Weaverville to take her station in the tiny lookout tower for the summer fire season.

Year after year, she directs firefighters to small fires--which always have the potential to become big fires.

The number of lookouts is gradually dwindling, as transportation and technology improve fire detection and firefighting. But there are still 15 manned lookout towers in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

While being a lookout does not entail a lot of glamour or even recognition, the job is one that a few people appreciate a lot.

Ed Horgan, fire management officer for the Weaverville Ranger District, said the Forest Service needs the lookouts even though it is cutting back on their numbers.

Higher Technology

“There’s a lot of talk of going to higher technology. Those things need a lot of refinement,” Horgan said. “My personal opinion is that they (lookout personnel) will not go away until we can get high-technology up there that can do just about everything a person can.”

Horgan said a good lookout not only spots smoke from fires, but also serves as guide to ground crews searching for fires and as a radio communications link for loggers, foresters and accident victims.

Horgan boasted that Carlson, because of her dedication and familiarity with the terrain, is one of the best the Shasta-Trinity forest has.

Carlson said she has been a lookout every fire season since 1962.

And, she said, she is confident that her sightings have helped prevent major forest fires in the area surrounding the 6,955-foot peak on the edge of Trinity Lake.

Alertness Emphasized

“It only takes five or 10 minutes for a fire to get a start on you,” she said, emphasizing the need for a lookout to be alert. “It is extremely necessary in that area because there’s not many people looking right into the canyons.”

John Guthrie, fire management specialist for the Shasta-Trinity area, said the need for lookouts has declined dramatically since the 1930s, when stations funded by railroad companies dotted the landscape.

Until the 1950s, he said, the fuel and brakes on the coal powered-trains were notorious for starting fires in forests along the track.

When diesel engines came onto the scene, the numbers of fires started by trains, and therefore the number of lookouts needed, declined, he said.

But it was about that time, he said, that the public began making more use of the forests, leading to an increase in man-caused fires.

Improved Response Time

Since the 1950s, the number of Forest Service lookouts has decreased as technological developments have greatly improved the response time and effectiveness of firefighters, Guthrie said.

Although they were initially designed so that each lookout’s vision would overlap another’s by 20 miles, that overlap became unnecessary with improvements in access and increases in the number of citizens’ sightings.

In addition, he said, increases in the amount of traffic through areas on freeways, such as Interstate 5 through Lakehead, have made some towers obsolete because people with citizen band radios can report fires even before they are spotted by lookouts.

Infrared photography to detect heat, remote television cameras panning the scenery and flyovers based on computerized maps of lightning ground strikes can go a long way toward spotting fires without having manned towers.

Lookouts Still Needed

But Guthrie said more technological improvements are needed if lookouts are to be replaced by machines or satellites.

Horgan said lookouts still are needed to spot fires in areas such as Trinity Lake because of the potential for fires to burn unnoticed long enough to develop into major blazes.

Carlson said she is confident that if the Forest Services were to propose eliminating the Bonanza King lookout, the residents of nearby Coffee Creek and Trinity Center would do everything in their power to prevent that.

She traveled up to her 14-by-14-foot summer home just over a week ago after two weeks of fire prevention work and lookout training with the Forest Service.

She will stay up there for most of the season with dog Clementine as a constant companion and the expectation of regular visits from friends.

“A good lookout is dedicated to something beyond the point of reason. You’re reluctant to leave even when you’re off duty if something’s worrying you. It’s staying a little longer and being a little more concerned,” Carlson said.