Online Communities and Groups
Forest Fire Lookout Association Oregon Chapter’s Facebook Page
Forest Fire Lookout Enthusiasts Facebook Group
Oregon Fire Lookouts Facebook Group
Fire Lookout Towers of the West Coast
Fire Lookouts of Washington Facebook Group
Fire Lookout Email Discussion Group
Websites
Forest Fire Lookout Association
Founded in 1990, the FFLA promotes the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of lookouts.
Sand Mountain Society
The Sand Mountain Society is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of fire lookouts.
Friends of Blue Mountains Lookouts
A local chapter of the Oregon chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association
Rex’s Forest Fire Lookout Page
Includes comprehensive list of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota lookouts, along with many photos.
Forest Lookouts – Oregon
Ron Kemnow has done a tremendous amount of research and put it up on his website. Lookouts are listed by county. He also has a site for Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, and other western states.
National Historic Lookout Register
The National Historic Lookout Register is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Forest Service, the Forest Fire Lookout Association, state agencies, and other private groups to recognize historic fire lookouts throughout the United States.
Former Fire Lookout Sites Register
This site is a directory of former fire lookout sites.
Osborne Panoramic Images
This website provides low-resolution images of the panoramic photos taken from lookouts in Oregon and Washington in the 1930s.
Osborne Fire Lookout Panoramas
This website provides high-resolution images of the panoramic photos taken from Oregon lookouts in the 1930s.
Lookout History
A series of videos with Ray Kresek about the history of lookouts.
Region 6 Lookout Tower Drawings
This site contains historic drawings used in Region 6 (Oregon and Washington) from 1936 to 1965. These do not meet current structural codes and are for historic reference only. This page is no longer live on the internet, but is available via the Internet Archive.
Standard Lookout Structure Plans
This 138-page document from 1938 contains plans and drawings for different types of lookouts.
Books
Finding Fire: A Personal History of Fire Lookouts in Lane County, Oregon, by Doug Newman (2007)
Fire Lookouts of Oregon, by Cheryl Hill (2016)
Fire Lookouts of the Northwest (3rd edition), by Ray Kresek (1998)
Hiking Washington’s Fire Lookouts, by Amber Casali (2018)
How to Rent a Fire Lookout in the Pacific Northwest, by Tom Foley and Tish McFadden (2005)
Lookouts: Firewatchers of the Cascades and Olympics, by Ira Spring and Byron Fish (1996)
Lost Fire Lookout Hikes and Histories: Olympic Peninsula and Willapa Hills, by Leslie Romer (2021)
Lookout History
The Lookout Cookbook: Region One
We Climbed the Highest Mountains, by Albert Arnst
A History of the Architecture of the USDA Forest Service: Lookouts