Fire Lookouts: Castles in the Air

Since before the turn of the century, forestry personnel and others have stood guard over numerous government and public lands throughout Canada and the United States. In harm's way and with little provisions, they provided sentry duty against fires, floods, hurricanes and other threatening weather conditions in structures that are called fire lookouts or, as some now like to term them, "Castles In The Air."

In recent decades many of the lookouts - especially in the Pacific Northwest - have fallen into disrepair, been abandoned or were destroyed by time, fire, erosion and neglect. And, as roads were laid and more modern forms of fire detection were put into use, hundreds of other fire lookouts that were built in the 1930s and 40s simply became obsolete and fell into disuse.

Fortunately, over the last 20 years the Forestry Service began renovating a great many of the old lookouts and making them available as vacation rentals to local residents and tourists, and at pretty reasonable prices. In the Pacific Northwest alone, the U.S. Forestry Service now rents close to 60 of these former fire lookouts, and vacationers are flocking in groves to spend a little quality time to sample history and take in some breathtaking views from the top-of-the-world cabins in the sky.

For as low as $40 a night individuals or families can escape the hustle and bustle of cell phones, computers, televisions and the madness of city life for weeks on end if they so desire and experience the sheer wonder of the outdoors firsthand and from elevations many thousands of feet above sea level.

Though many early fire lookouts were simple scaffolds, attached precariously to trees, offering little shelter from the elements, and consisting of fragile materials that were transported to sites by mule train or truck, some of the recreational rental lookouts today are not quite so primitive although most offer very little in accommodations or amenities.