LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the summer fire season arriving, the effort to find fire lookout volunteers is underway.
Chris Rivera is director of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, California-Pacific Region, which includes the Mendocino National Forest and some of the Los Padres National Forest.
The Forest Fire Lookout Association has been getting more calls to see it can assist with staffing lookouts, he said.
Rivera said the US Forest Service has asked him to assume the responsibility of recruiting and training experienced and new lookout fire watchers.
He said Lake County currently has no available fire lookouts, as the one on Mount Konocti can’t be used due to structural issues and the High Glade Lookout above Upper Lake burned during the 2018 Ranch fire.
“We’re going to do old-school, mountaintop types of lookouts,” Rivera said.
They are planning to have several locations. One will be Anthony Peak in Mendocino County, which is 16 miles above Covelo. Anthony Peak will need experienced lookouts which Rivera said will probably turn out to be a paid, part-time job during fire season.
Another area where they plan to have a lookout is in Upper Lake at a location yet to be determined, Rivera said. The Pinnacle Rock area is a possibility.
They also plan to have people up on top of Mount Konocti, though not in the tower, Rivera said.
He said they want to put fire lookouts on a mountain top in the “old school” style. They’ll have binoculars, a compass and a radio, and will report fires and smoke.
Rivera said that the group feels it’s important to protect the county.
The need that led to towers being built in the first place is coming back, said Rivera.
Even though there is the use of infrared or cameras with satellites, “The human element cannot be replaced,” Rivera said, adding that all of the elements need to come together.
Rivera said they want to continue the early detection methods, preserve the towers and refurbish them, and train people to locate fires.
Fire lookouts have been deemed essential because they are part of the fire workforce at this time, Rivera said.
For more information, call Rivera at 707-239-6824 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
To learn more about the Forest Fire Lookout Association, visit www.FFLA.org . To donate to the Mount Konocti fire lookout tower renovations, visit https://ffla-ccwr.org/ .
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.