Many want Needles Lookout rebuilt

Hikers, rock climbers, Boy Scout troops and interested citizens alike are pushing for a 74-year-old mountain lookout tower that burned down in late July to be rebuilt, but the Sequoia National Forest’s spokesperson on Thursday said it could be several months before any action is taken.

Denise Alonzo, a spokesperson for the Forest and the Giant Sequoia National Monument, said several steps need to be taken before the possibility of replacing the Needles Fire Lookout Tower, which burned to the ground July 28 after an ember escaped from the tower’s wood-burning fireplace and landed on the structure’s wood-shingle roof, can be considered.

Built in 1937-38 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Needles Lookout, which was situated atop the Magician pinnacle at 8,245 feet elevation, was located on the Western Divide Ranger District in the Forest within the Monument.

The tower overlooked the Kern River Drainage, Mt. Whitney, Olancha Peak, Farewell Gap and Dome Rock, and was one of the most popular places to visit on the Western Divide Ranger District. Most importantly, Alonzo said, the lookout was the primary communication line for individuals in the back country, where cell phones do not work.

The tower attendant could relay messages between the U.S. Forest Service’s fire dispatcher and those in the back country to ensure their safety, Alonzo said.

“[The tower attendant] provided an eye and an ear for people in the back country,” she said.

Before the possibility of building a new lookout can even be considered, Alonzo said the debris left by the consumed tower still has to be removed. She said it will take a “hazardous materials team” to accomplish this step.

Once the debris is removed, Alonzo said contractors will then have to assess the foundation of the rock on which the lookout was situated to determine if constructing a new tower at the same site is safe and feasible.

“There’s still a lot that has to be done to assess the site and decide whether we’re going to rebuild or not,” she said.

Alonzo said she doesn’t anticipate any work taking place at the site until next spring, after the winter months.

Many of those who knew the lookout best are hoping that the assessment period will lead to the construction of a new tower. Alonzo said she has received about 30 emails from people who want to see the lookout rebuilt.

“We’ve received lots of emails and lots of support for rebuilding,” she said.

Alonzo added that members of the public will be invited to a meeting in the future to offer up their thoughts as the situation unfolds.

Meanwhile, the Buck Rock Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to “restore fire lookouts and other historic facilities in accordance with all government and historical standards and guidelines,” according to the Foundation’s mission statement, has offered to act as a clearinghouse for contributions that are made in the effort to replace Needles Lookout.

Alonzo said she is hoping to meet with Foundation representatives some time this winter to discuss what, if anything, will be done at the site.

“We are hoping very much to have a meeting,” Kathy Allison, the Foundation’s executive director, said. “There’s a great interest in doing that.”

Allison said she has received about 50 emails from people who have pledged to help in some way if the rebuilding efforts move forward.

“There’s tremendous public support for it,” Allison said. “Whatever it is we need to do, we’re willing to help. I don’t think getting money is going to be a concern. There are plenty of opportunities to fundraise for that.”

The Foundation had already partnered with the Forest Service and the Southern Sierra Climbers Association to rehabilitate the catwalk and replace the lightning-protection system, the windows and all 189 steps at Needles Lookout.

The Foundation has also rehabilitated Mount Tom and Fence Meadow lookouts in the Sierra National Forest and Delilah Lookout in the Sequoia. The Foundation is in the process of rehabilitating Buck Rock Lookout in the Sequoia as well.

“Whatever is needed, we try to help,” Allison said.

Allison called Needles Lookout “truly iconic” and said the views that it offered were “spectacular.”

“It’s probably the most well-known fire lookout in the world,” Allison said.

One man who is hoping to see Needles Lookout rebuilt is Kristian Solem, who first visited the tower in 1982. Before it was consumed by flames, Solem said he had visited the lookout “too many times to count.”

“The lookout was a great destination,” he said. “Its presence encouraged many people, young and old, to make the two-mile hike at 8,000-feet elevation, knowing they would be rewarded with spectacular views of an area which cannot otherwise be seen in the same way without an airplane.”

Solem, an avid rock climber, has also scaled up the Needles formation many times. Solem said there is a rock-climbing route on the Magician called “Cookies on Sunday” because Forestry Technician Margee Kelly, who made the lookout her summer home for many years, made cookies each Sunday for climbers who made it to the top.

“I love the wilderness, so my attachment to this lookout may seem odd, but there are examples where structures in the wilderness are valuable enhancements to the experience,” Solem said. “This unique and wildly situated lookout was such a place and should be restored.”