Idaho Fire Lookouts collection

This work was undertaken to reconcile the data and document the existence of the fire lookout towers within the state of Idaho during of the fall of 2008. This reconciliation came as a result of a need to update the status of US Forest Service fire lookout towers currently depicted on aeronautical charts.

Idaho contained the largest number of Forest Service lookouts in the United States … 989. Many of them were constructed during the 1920s and 30s and have long since departed us. Some have collapsed while others have succumbed to lightning strikes and forest fires. Some have been destroyed due to vandalism. Initial research indicated that of those original 989 towers, 594 of them were confirmed destroyed or removed. Our work began with the remaining 395 towers in question.

With financial assistance from the Idaho Aviation Foundation and the aid of a few volunteers, an aerial survey of the Idaho lookouts was completed in the fall of 2008. Out of the original 989 lookouts, 157 lookouts (three of which have been converted to electronic sites) were found to still exist. The lookout names, coordinates, FAA ID numbers, GPS waypoints, sector, physical condition, and photographs were catalogued, documented, and archived on this DVD.