Approximately 4,000 fire lookout towers once dotted Western forests, staffed by dedicated lookouts who scanned the surrounding woods for any hint of smoke.
But today, about 400 are in use, largely due to budget constraints and the rise of satellite and spotter plane technology. Some abandoned towers burned, while others became historical sites or lodging for tourists. Now, a new project could make the rest obsolete.
The changing status of
fire lookouts
About 4,000
fire lookout sites
have been built
in the West
since 1902
About 1,000 are
still standing
About 400
are known to
be staffed today
SOURCE: Forest Fire Lookout Association, Design: Brooke Warren
This year, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory deployed a dozen high-definition cameras on mountaintops around the Lake Tahoe Basin (the AlertTAHOE program) and in central and northern Nevada, on both public and private land.
The cameras, which have infrared capabilities and can pan, tilt and zoom, feed time-lapse images to fire department monitors and even home computers. Smoke can be detected much earlier, allowing firefighters to squelch fires sooner and reducing the need for expensive spotter planes, says Graham Kent, director of the lab. Though some regions use analog, closed-circuit cameras, Kent recommends high-tech, digital cameras.
“If you’re not seeing thousands of these cameras in the future, then call up the government and ask why they’re wasting money on other methods,” says Kent, who’s working to get more cameras on remote public lands. “This really is the future of fire observation.”
Locations of high-definition fire cameras installed
by Nevada Seismological Laboratory
Existing BLM stations in Nevada
Existing AlertTAHOE stations
Funded stations
(to be installed by summer 2016)
area
enlarged
Reno
Lake Tahoe
CA
NV
SOURCE: Nevada Seismological Laboratory
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Fire lookouts burning out.
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