Special Report: ‘Salute to the Fire Spotters’
“We can see a $100 fire and get it out before it becomes a million dollar fire,” stated Pam Morey, the Fire Lookout Coordinator for the Southern California Mountains Foundation.
From lightning strikes, illegal campfires and false alarms, it’s the unseen eyes of the forest that assist first responders in keeping San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains safe.
Morey continued, “because we’re on the peaks of the mountains so we get the first view of the smokes. We call ourselves the eyes of the forest.”
The seven local lookout towers, Strawberry Peak, Keller Peak, Butler Peak, Morton Peak, Black Mountain, Tahquitz Peak and Red Mountain, are staffed by nearly 300 volunteers.
Hikers have become a popular volunteer, especially for Tahquitz Peak, as it’s almost a 5-mile hike through the San Jacinto Mountains.
John Ventuleth, a fire lookout trainee, explained, “I used to teach forestry in high school and it’s a fantastic reminder to me the importance of our national forests and the outstanding ability of us in this area to have a great recreational resource here.”
Closed for several years due to smog and budget cuts, the Southern California Mountains Foundation began to reopen the towers in the early 90s. One fire in recent history that was originally spotted by a lookout was the 2015 lake fire.
“The area hadn’t burned in over 100 years so it had a lot of vegetation, a lot of fuel on the ground and so we called it in,” recalled Morey.
Chief Patrick Reitz of Idyllwild Fire shared his experience with lookouts. “They’re multifaceted, multitalented, they do a great service and every time I hear of another fire tower going automated it kind of breaks your heart a little bit because not only is it a little nostalgic and very historical but you know there’s an interaction there we can’t have with machines,” he said.
It’s not always a fire lookout making the call to dispatch. At times, the fire department calls on them.
“We’ll get folks that will call 911 and say I think I’m seeing smoke. We’ll notify the tower, ‘Hey can you help out with this’, they can pinpoint the location much much better and faster,” Reitz continued.
Some heavy rain across the Southland this Winter makes the landscape looks lush and green but it’s still very dry.
When asked about the current state of our local mountains, Reitz stated, “It’s horribly dry. We didn’t have a true Winter. The snow melt and the snow pack didn’t happen. The penetration of the moisture wasn’t more than a few inches.”
A big difference from 2017 when over 76% of the state was not experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions the first week of May. This year, over 65% of the state is experiencing both short- and long- term drought conditions.
To become a volunteer fire lookout, the foundation asks that you donate 8.5 hours once a month from May to November. Click here to learn more on how to become involved with the organization.
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