page_title: Fire lookout tower
section_title: Countries continuing to use fire lookout towers
hierarchical_section_title: Fire lookout tower / Countries continuing to use fire lookout towers
caption_attribution_description: English: 1950—Monjeau Lookout, a distinctive native stone tower built by the CCC in 1940. In the year it was built, the tower had 10,000 visitors. Photo by E. L. Perry. FS # 461597
context_page_description: A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. The fire lookout tower is a small building, usually located on the summit of a mountain or other high vantage point, in order to maximize the viewing distance and range, known as view shed. From this vantage point the fire lookout can see smoke that may develop, determine the location by using a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder, and call fire suppression personnel to the fire. Lookouts also report weather changes and plot the location of lightning strikes during storms. The location of the strike is monitored for a period of days after in case of ignition.
  The typical fire lookout tower consists of a small room, known as a cab located atop a large steel, or wooden tower. Historically, the tops of tall trees have also been used to mount permanent platforms. Sometimes natural rock may be used to create a lower platform. In cases where the terrain makes a tower unnecessary, the structure is known as a ground cab. Ground cabs are called towers, even if they don't sit on a tower.
context_section_description: Australia
  Belgium
  Brazil
  Canada (Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan)
  France
  Germany
  Greece
  Indonesia
  Israel
  Italy
  Latvia
  Mexico
  New Zealand
  Norway
  Poland
  Portugal
  South Africa
  Spain
  Turkey
  United States
  Uruguay
caption: Monjeau Lookout tower built of native stone by the CCC in 1940
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