THE EYES OF THE FOREST 



465 



lookout spends all his daylight hours, but he lives in a 

 log cabin located in a sheltered spot a short distance 

 below the summit of the peak. 



In the National Forests of the Eastern and Lake 

 States, where the country is flat or rolling in character 

 and there are few mountains, a different type of lookout 

 is used for fire detection. In these regions the problem 

 is to get a sufficient distance above the tops of the trees 

 to be able to see out over the country. Wooden towers 

 built of logs and bolted together were first used for this 

 purpose, but have been supplanted in recent years by 

 specially constructed steel towers. This new type of 

 lookout may vary in height from 30 to 80 feet or more, 

 depending on the flatness of the surrounding country, 

 and be equipped with a glassed-in observatory connected 

 with the ground by stairs, or may have only a small 6x6 

 screened-in observation platform on top, to reach which 

 the lookout must climb an almost perpendicular iron lad- 

 der. Although securely guyed by wires, lookout work 

 on top of one of these "steel spiders" is anything but 

 pleasant, because of the constant swaying of the tower 

 in the wind. The most unique fire lookout tower in the 



THE OLD WOODEN TOWER TYPE 



Wooden towers were much used in the early days of forest 

 fire lookouts. Usually they were built by Forest Service officers. 



A STATION OF THE EARLIER TYPE 



This is one of the early Forest Service standard fire lookouts. Here the living quarters and observatory are combined in one 

 building the observatory being reached by a ladder from inside. Glass windows were also coming into use just about then. 

 This is Sourdough Lookout on the Washington National Forest in Washington. 



