~~~~~
Argentine Rock
.
August 12, 1955: "Plumas National Forest lookouts not only keep a sharp watch for the start of forest fires, but also keep their eyes open for the sake of personal safety.
.....This is the statement of Mrs. Lillie Hitchcock who mans the lookout perched atop Argentine Rock five miles north of Sloat on the crest of Grizzly ridge. Starting down the lookout steps last Thursday morning about 10 o'clock for firewood, Mrs. Hitchcock heard one of nature's most blood tingling signals. It came from a few steps lower where a good sized rattlesnake was in charge of the "right of way." Mrs. Hitchcock, ready for any emergency, reached back into her lookout chamber for the 410 shotgun she keeps handy.
.....Now, along with the scalps of four porcupines, she has on display a fine set of eight rattles and a button taken from the rattlesnake.
.....Mrs. Hitchcock says the porcupine visitors are the most disturbing since they have a special liking for tool handles, washboards and the wood siding of the lookout upon which they enjoy gnawing at all hours of the night.
.....Added to Mrs. Hitchcock's thrills in her assignment is the fact that the Argentine Rock lookout building is perched on a cliff, and the northwest catwalk around the building overlooks a sheer drop of 500 feet to the rock side of the canyon below. Mrs. Hitchcock claims that lookout visitors seem to feel more comfortable on the east side of the building." (Reno Evening Gazette)
.
~~~~~
Bald Eagle Butte
~~~~~
Ben Lomond
~~~~~
Black Mountain
.
October 27, 1933: "Hall's Flat CCC camp is deserted today except for fifteen men who have been detailed to remain in camp and complete 2500 feet of road on Black Mountain.
.....It definitely is assured Hall's Flat camp will be reopened next spring. (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
November 17, 1933: "Emmett and Lester Brockman are hauling a car load of lumber from the railroad station at Doyle to Laufman ranger station. The lumber will be used next spring to build a lookout station on Black mountain." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
~~~~~
Camel Peak
~~~~~
Claremont
~~~~~
Dixie Mountain
.
July 20, 1928: "Ranger Ben Beard spent several days at Dixie Mountain looking over the site for a lookout station and telephone line." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
September 14, 1928: "The Forest Service is constructing a road from the Ramelli range in Last Chance to the summit of Dixie mountain where they are building a lookout station. On the west slope of Dixie they have a crew of men stringing the telephone line to the lookout site. About fifteen men are employed." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
July 5, 1929: "The Lookout station on Dixie Mountain is nearing completion. Ranger Beard states that it will be finished by July 15." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
June 5, 1931: "J.C. Horn and son Myron arrived here from Corvallis, Oregon. Myron will be fire lookout at the Dixie Mountain station for this season." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
~~~~~
Kettle Rock
.
July 9, 1959: "An almost impossible--but necessary--30 mile drive down a barely passable mountain road in the middle of the night was accomplished recently by a 15-year-old Greenville girl who has had only a minimum of driving experience.
.....The trip was made from Kettle Rock lookout by Dorothy Hawson, after her father, Bill Hawson, suffered a heart attack and had to be taken into Greenville for immediate medical attention.
.....Mrs. Hawson was also at the lookout but remained to man the post until a relief was sent by the Forest Service.
.....Dorothy made the trip down the mountain with her father in a pickup truck, leaving the lookout about 2:30 in the morning. She broke down at the conclusion of the trying journey and suffered screaming nightmares throughout the following night. The effective treatment for her condition was being forced to make the trip again the following day in daylight.
.....Local residents claim that the trip is almost impossible to make with an ordinary auto--or unloaded pickup.
....The teenager probably would have been unable to make the drive had she not received driver's training at school, according to friends who reported that she is not yet a licensed driver and has had only limited experience.
....Mr. Hawson was treated at Greenville and transferred to the Veterans Hospital in Reno, where he is reported as progressing nicely." (The Record)
.
July 16, 1959: "Bill Hawson, who suffered a heart attack recently at Kettle Rock lookout, is a patient at the Veterans hospital in Reno, where his condition was reported improved late last week. He will be forced to remain flat on his back for the next 6 or 7 weeks. Hawson will appreciate friends here; he can receive visitors." (The Record)
.
July 16, 1959: "Mrs. Violet Hawson spent the weekend in Reno visiting her husband Bill in the hospital. She has given up her lookout post at Kettle Rock Lookout." (The Record)
.
July 23, 1959: "First report on the fire came from Kettle Rock Lookout to the north, where Blanche Le Fluer had been on duty since only four days earlier. (Mrs. Le Fluer took over the post after Mrs. Bill Hawson was forced to quit the position by the illness of her husband.)" (The Record)
.
~~~~~
Lexington Hill
~~~~~
Mt Elwell
~~~~~
Mt Harkness
~~~~~
Mt Hough
~~~~~
Mt Ingalls
.
August 3, 1960: "Mount Ingalls was chosen as one of three lookouts in Northern California to have a time lapse camera installed. This is a cooperative study between the State Forestry Division and the Weather Bureau in conjunction with the use of radar in fire detection. The lookout operator is instructed to photograph any build up of clouds that they see. They can't see at night and that's where the radar is especially valuable.
.....Eventually, as a result of these observations, it is hoped that fire fighters will be warned far enough in advance to move in before fires start." (Star-News)
~~~~~
Pilot Peak
~~~~~
Red Hill
~~~~~
Red Rock
.
September 29, 1949: "Figuring himself lost in the wilds of the Plumas National Forest, D.J. Costa, 21-year-old hunter from Chico, set the forest on fire at the edge of a logging road and within three miles of Lights Creek Ranger Station shortly before noon on September 25. Panic stricken, and facing the thought of a possible night alone in the woods with wild animals prowling around him, left it to attempt a return to camp. He was overjoyed when meeting Sid Donathan, forest fireman who had been dispatched to investigate Costa's fire which had been spotted by nearby Red Rock lookout. Readily admitting he had set the fire in his fear of being lost, Costa was charged with negligence for having caused a forest fire.
.....Taken before Justice of the Peace Frank Standart of Greenville, Costa was fined $25, with $15 of the amount suspended" (Indian Valley Record)
.
September 23, 1954: "Mrs. Wanda Hansen, efficient Plumas National Forest Lookout at Red Rock, called in ti Fire Control Chief Johnny Murray at the Greenville Ranger Station Monday and asked for an immediate replacement. Murray, who is nothing if not a man of action, immediately dispatched the lady's husband, Ralph Hansen, to the lookout with Patrolman Jim Forstner as a replacement. Mrs. Hansen was taken to the Westwood hospital and at 5 p.m. gave birth to s 7-lb baby boy - but a month ahead of schedule. Both mother and baby are reported to be doing nicely. The new arrival has been named Frank Wesley. (Indian Valley Record)
~~~~~
Smith Peak
~~~~~
Spanish Peak
~~~~~
Table Mountain
~~~~~
Taylor Rock
~~~~~
Thompson Peak
.
April 4, 1931: "Work will be started shortly on a trail leading to the proposed lookout on Thompson Mountain." (Fresno Bee)
.
June 26, 1932: "Ranger Beard was at Mt. Thompson the past week where there is a lookout station being erected." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
July 24, 1931: "F. Bell of Laufman Station spent the past week painting the Mt. Thompson lookout station." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
August 4, 1933: "A sudden blaze shooting up from below the floorboards of a logging truck, ate its way over nearly six hundred acres of timber south of Thompson peak as early efforts to check it Friday failed.
.....A defective wiring underneath the truck blazed forth without warning. The driver alone could not check the flames even with the aid of a passerby, so rapidly did the blaze spread. The lookout on Thompson peak reported the fire to headquarters, and two-hundred men from the Crocker CCC camp in Plumas County, were ultimately called to fight the fast moving blaze.
.....On Saturday, the day after the fire started, the flames were once brought under control, but the high wind which held the fire in the tops of the trees, carried it over the narrow trail and necessitated all night work before being brought under control.
.....The fire was the largest that has hit this section of the country this season. Over half of the timber was government property, the rest being private holdings of the F.G.S." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
April 27, 1934: "Harry Foster spent several days at the Mt. Thompson lookout station while he was working on the grade going to the station." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
.
~~~~~