ARIZONA LOOKOUTS
SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS
Coconino National Forest
Coconino County
Coconino County
June 22, 1916: "The Forest Service has decided to try-out a forestry service lookout on top of Mt. Humphrey Peak and for that purpose Frank G. Lewis who has been in charge of the lookout on Elden Mountain for three years has left for the top of the Peak, the highest of the San Franciscos.
Lewis will camp right in the saddle of the peaks but will locate his lookout on the highest part. A packing outfit has been taken along and he was accompanied to his new home by two other men to help him get established.
Many people have said that a station on the top of the San Franciscos would not be a success. It will be up to Frank G. Lewis to settle this question. The establishment of the new lookout is for that purpose.
Humphrey Peak is 14,000 feet high. Very few people are working at a higher elevation. Humphrey Peak is a little more than 7,000 feet higher than Flagstaff.
From the top of Humphrey Peak, Lewis will have a magnificent view of the surrounding country. He will be able to see the north part of the Grand Canyon and innumerable mountain peaks far and near in every direction.
If the Humphrey Peak lookout proves successful, the Forest Service will improve the trail and build a cabin in the saddle for the accommodation of the public as well as the forest officers." (Williams News)
Lewis will camp right in the saddle of the peaks but will locate his lookout on the highest part. A packing outfit has been taken along and he was accompanied to his new home by two other men to help him get established.
Many people have said that a station on the top of the San Franciscos would not be a success. It will be up to Frank G. Lewis to settle this question. The establishment of the new lookout is for that purpose.
Humphrey Peak is 14,000 feet high. Very few people are working at a higher elevation. Humphrey Peak is a little more than 7,000 feet higher than Flagstaff.
From the top of Humphrey Peak, Lewis will have a magnificent view of the surrounding country. He will be able to see the north part of the Grand Canyon and innumerable mountain peaks far and near in every direction.
If the Humphrey Peak lookout proves successful, the Forest Service will improve the trail and build a cabin in the saddle for the accommodation of the public as well as the forest officers." (Williams News)
July 7, 1916: "It is reported that the Supervisor of the Coconino National Forest at Flagstaff has installed a fire lookout station on the summit of the San Francisco Peaks. The Forest guard in charge enjoys the distinction of being the 'highest up' man in the Southwest, the peaks having an elevation of 13,000 feet. The use of the peaks as a lookout station is said to be in the nature of an experiment to determine whether mists and fogs, which are more or less prevalent around the summit, prevent its use as a vantage point for detecting forest fires." (The Coconino Sun)
July 7, 1916: "It is reported that the Supervisor of the Coconino National Forest at Flagstaff has installed a fire lookout station on the summit of the San Francisco Peaks. The Forest guard in charge enjoys the distinction of being the 'highest up' man in the Southwest, the peaks having an elevation of 13,000 feet. The use of the peaks as a lookout station is said to be in the nature of an experiment to determine whether mists and fogs, which are more or less prevalent around the summit, prevent its use as a vantage point for detecting forest fires." (The Coconino Sun)
July 8, 1916: "An experimental lookout station has been established on the summit of Humphrey peak, the highest of the San Francisco mountain by the forest service. If the lookout station proves a valuable one. the station will be made a permanent one. The new station is 14,000 feet above sea level, and over 7,000 feet above Flagstaff." (Phoenix Bulletin)
October 6, 1916: "Since June 17, Frank G. Lewis, a fire lookout, has been stationed on these peaks. He has a camp about 1,000 feet below the summit, where he sleeps; spending all the hours of daylight on top, keeping sharp lookout for smoke. Triangulating on the smoke he locates the fire, and, by signals, warns rangers many miles distant.
From his station, Lewis sees sections of the six states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico. Eastward, he sees the Buckskin Mountains north of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, and the north wall of the canyon between. He sees Mount Thomas and Escudilla Mount in the White Mountains, which rise in Apache county, Arizona. Southward he sees the smoke rising from the Clarksdale smelter, in Verde Valley. Northward, peak after peak rise, until the scene falls below the horizon.--The Earth." (The Coconino Sun)