ARIZONA LOOKOUTS
BAKER'S BUTTE
Coconino County
Coconino National Forest
12N-9E-3
Coconino National Forest
12N-9E-3
January 20, 1912: Baker's Butte was chosen as a primary lookout at which a man will be stationed at all times. The lookout has telephone connection with the Supervisor's office. (Winslow Mail)
1915: "Carpenter Fisher built a cabin for the lookout." (The Ranger)
April 30, 1915: "H.C. Johns of Pittsburg, Pa., reported at the local forest office on April 18 for duty this season as a lookout man on Bakers Butte. From this point he will spot all fires starting on the surrounding country on the Coconino, Sitgreaves and Tonto Forests. He will leave for his post within the next week." (The Coconino Sun)
December 3, 1920: "At the time of a recent inspection by Mr. Kircher the matter of replacing the lookout tower at Bakers Butte was taken up. The plan was to replace the old wooden tower, which is now unsafe, before another fire season with a steel tower. We were in hopes of getting a used steel tower at the Meteor Mine but this plan failed. However, we now have prices from the Aermotor Co., Chicago, on a 33-foot tower for $85.00 F.O.B. Chicago. Blueprint of this tower is enclosed for your information, which should be returned. Our present funds are not sufficient to finance a new tower, either wooden or steel. As you know the Bakers Butte lookout tower is of great importance, both to the Coconino and Tonto Forests. I am asking for an increase in our improvement allotment of $125 to pay for a new steel tower and freight on same from Chicago." (To the District Forester from the Forest Supervisor)
December 8, 1920: "While I agree with you in the importance of a new tower at Bakers Butte, this office is not in the position to help you out financially since the entire improvement contingent has recently been exhausted in making wireless telephone experiments. I suggest, however, that the importance of this project warrants you in eliminating some of your other projects and transferring funds. If you purchase a tower such as shown in the blue print accompanying your letter, I suggest that you try to have the manufacturer modify the tower so that the 7 foot section, which is immediately below the platform and which runs vertical, be eliminated. We have found that it is objectionable to have this part in the towers since it is very difficult to climb this portion of the tower. It seems to me that it would be just as easy to put the platform lower down so as to eliminate this part; I have roughly indicated what I mean on the blue print which is being returned." (Letter from District Forester to Forest Supervisor)
March 16, 1921: "Enclosed find purchase order for one steel lookout tower 34'9", and 5a voucher for your signature and return.
Ship on the enclosed Government bill of lading steel lookout tower, 34'9", as shown on your blueprint which is enclosed, shipment to be made as soon as possible to F.W. Croxen, Winslow, Arizona. Please send all papers, including the two copies of the Bill of Lading, to this office. Kindly return the blueprint and furnish full instructions for erecting this tower." (Letter to Baker Manufacturing Co. from Forest Supervisor)
March 19, 1921: "We have received your order for a special lookout tower as shown in the blue prints submitted with our letter of March 9. We have entered the order and will have same ready for shipment on or before March 26.
We thank you for the business and believe you will find the tower very well suited for your work." (Letter from Baker Manufacturing Co. to the Forest Supervisor)
March 22, 1921: "The remaining $136.60 now allotted to the Blue Ridge Tool-&-Saddle Room is being transferred to the Bakers Butte Lookout Tower. It is planned to replace this allotment during the 1922 fiscal year but as the need of this tower is urgent and greater than the first-mentioned project it is thought best to transfer this allotment." (Memo from Acting District Forester to Forest Supervisor)
March 26, 1921: "In packing the box of bolts and small parts for the special tower shipped you March 24 our men neglected to put in a number of small bolts. These we are forwarding to you by parcel post.
There is a blue print enclosed showing the sizes of bolts to use in various positions of the tower.
As a further help to you in getting the tower properly assembled we enclose a copy of our directions for assembling and erecting windmill towers. Please understand that the tower we have furnished you forms the bottom 34' of a 64' tower. It seems to us that it will be advisable for you to assemble the tower on the ground the same as a windmill tower and raise it by means of ropes and tackle, the same as a windmill tower is raised." (Letter from the Baker Manufacturing Co. to the Forest Supervisor)
July 7, 1922: "J.A. Adams, assistant forest service supervisor, states that Baker's Butte station, edge of Tonto basin, near the top of Strawberry hill, has the furthest field of vision of all the lookout stations in this locality. From the butte, on a clear day, one can see as far as the White mountain to the east, as far as Pocacho Butte, beyond Kingman, and south almost to Mexico." (The Coconino Sun)
July 13, 1922: "We have an allotment of $25 for the construction of a platform for the ladder on the Baker's Butte tower. Unfortunately our allotments just came in, so it was impossible to advise you in time to secure thew material and have Lochman do the work while he was on the ground. However, you may secure the necessary material at your convenience, and if you desire you may have some local man do the work, as it will probably be a long time before it will be possible for us to have Lochman return." (Letter from Forest Supervisor)
July 14, 1922: "Gus Peach, who is stationed in the forest service lookout at Baker's Butte, about sixty miles south of here, on the Mogollon rim, had a very narrow escape during one of the recent thunder storms. Lightning struck the observation station, breaking all of the windows, burning out all the telephones, and putting Gus out of active service for about five minutes." (The Coconino Sun)
August 11, 1922: "Charles N. Peach, forest service fire lookoutman at Bakers Butte Tower, had a most miraculous escape from death by lightning Sunday when his tower was struck.
The tower is built similar to a windmill tower and extends 45 feet above the ground, so as to enable the lookout man to see over the tops of surrounding trees. At the top of the tower cab is built, about six feet square and completely enclosed by windows. A telephone and switches were mounted on a board in the cab.
The bolt of lightning apparently came in on the telephone wire; it shattered the switches and telephone instrument, and burned the wires and imbedded particles of them into the board. The concussion also broke every window light out of the cab. The miraculous part is that Mr. Peach happened to be stooping down on the floor searching for a key which he had dropped, and, outside of being temporarily deafened by the tremendous shock, he was uninjured.
Bakers Butte is on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, about nine miles north of Pine, and it commands an excellent view of an extensive area of heavily timbered country.--Miami Silver Belt." (The Coconino Sun)
The tower is built similar to a windmill tower and extends 45 feet above the ground, so as to enable the lookout man to see over the tops of surrounding trees. At the top of the tower cab is built, about six feet square and completely enclosed by windows. A telephone and switches were mounted on a board in the cab.
The bolt of lightning apparently came in on the telephone wire; it shattered the switches and telephone instrument, and burned the wires and imbedded particles of them into the board. The concussion also broke every window light out of the cab. The miraculous part is that Mr. Peach happened to be stooping down on the floor searching for a key which he had dropped, and, outside of being temporarily deafened by the tremendous shock, he was uninjured.
Bakers Butte is on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, about nine miles north of Pine, and it commands an excellent view of an extensive area of heavily timbered country.--Miami Silver Belt." (The Coconino Sun)
August 15, 1922: "The Baker's Butte Lookout tower was purchased from the Baker Mfg. Co., of Evansville, Wisconsin, since the price was considerably lower than that quoted by the Aermotor Company of Chicago. However, we are of the opinion that the material used in this tower is too light, since it was necessary to put in additional braces and struts. We would not recommend the purchase of towers from the Baker Mfg. Co., since the material, as stated above, is too light for our purposes." (To the District Forester from the Forest Supervisor)
June 23, 1937: "Reference is made to Mr. Hussey's memorandum of June 19 and previous correspondence in connection with the tower foundations for the 30 ft. towers on Hutch Mountain, Baker's Butte and Turkey Butte with particular reference to the one under discussion upon which a report was made, namely, the Baker's Butte tower.
I found an Aermotor Co. print showing the assembly of the vertical legs used in lieu of the ordinary concrete and anchor bolt plan. I rather question some of Mr. Hussey's conclusions with regard to the safety of the tower under existing conditions. He states that even where these legs might be placed in loose material, the base is sufficient to be entirely safe without grouting. This base consists of two 4x4 angles for a distance of 5 ft. 6 in. The base angles are 8 ft. 3 in. long, thus making a total base area at the bottom of each leg of 216 sq. in. This tower may be alright as far as settling is concerned, but on the high and unprotected places such as lookout towers it has been the practice to figure on a wind load of 40 lb. per square foot which is sufficient to withstand a hurricane with wind at 100 miles per hour. Without taking into consideration a windload on the base of the 12 x 12 cab, there is a very heavy resisting moment that has to be taken care of amounting to about 50,000 lbs. on the side of the tower which might be struck by the wind.
In looking at the photograph taken of this tower, it appears to me that in the lower left hand corner a section of one of these vertical legs is shown extending some distance above the ground line. This would show that only a part of the vertical leg was imbedded and tamped under ground. This of course would show the condition to be less resisting.
From a safety standpoint, there are two ways in which this condition can be corrected: First, by guying the tower on four corners with 3/4 in. steel cable. In order to do this, it would be necessary to sink 4 dead men, one for each corner, probably, in solid rock or boulder formation. This would be quite expensive. Further than that, it would not do away with the twist that might occur in the tower at the foundations because of their being merely tamped in with loose rock and dirt.
The other alternative is to remove the loose rock and dirt from around each tower leg, and if not already rough enough to key in concrete to the adjacent rock, the rock should be roughened and concrete poured to the upper end of the vertical leg. This could easily be done by simply making forms for concrete from present rock and ground elevation up to the point where the ladder begins.
Because of the fact that there are no anchor bolt holes in the horizontal base angles, the efficacy of the concrete pier will be due entirely to the bond between the bed rock on all four sides of the opening and the concrete which is poured in.
There should be very little expense connected with this jog and even though there might be a very slight chance that this tower would overturn, still I believe that we should play absolutely safe and anchor the legs in the manner described." (Memo for Operations from Assistant Regional Forester)
June 28, 1937: "All of the towers in question have guy wires of cable on four corners. These are fastened to dead men. The Baker's Butte tower over which we seem to be arguing has not been completed, and it would seem that possibly there is some misunderstanding on this account. After completion I believe that you will be entirely satisfied as to its safety.
We had not realized that Engineering was using a photograph of this tower while under construction, which of course does give the appearance of an incomplete job. We assure you that guys are put on these towers, and if there is any chance of twist the legs will be grouted to solid rock." (Memo for the Regional Forester from the Forest Supervisor)
June 16, 1939: "Fire control will be facilitated by construction of 27 miles of Forest Service telephone line from Bakers Butte lookout tower to Long Valley ranger station. (Casa Grande Dispatch)
November 11, 1948: "Radios will be used to help fight fires in Coconino national forest.
Three types of sets are planned for the first installation. They include two mobile units of 25 watts each; three lookout station sets of two watts each, and 17 handi-talkies--a perfected version of the war-famed walkie-talkies.
Present plans call for lookout sets to be installed at Elden, East Pocket, and Baker Butte stations. One of the mobile units will probably operate out of Flagstaff and the second from Long Valley." (Tucson Daily Citizen)
November 12, 1953: "For some time we have been hoping to install a gas space heater in the Bakers Butte lookout tower. This lookout is usually occupied more or less continuously from early spring until late fall or early winter. Consequently, it is necessary to provide some means of heating the cabin during much of the pre-and post-season period when the lookout is on duty. At the present time a gasoline heater is being used which is a safety hazard, from both the fire and fumes standpoints.
All of our somewhat limited 101 funds have been obligated, for such projects as the completion of the Elden and Moqui lookout towers. Therefore, it will be appreciated if you will keep this project in mind for consideration in the event 101 funds are available." (From Forest Supervisor to Regional Forester)
May 7, 1954: "I visited Bakers Butte Lookout on the afternoon of May 6, 1954.
I found Ken Devitt lying on one of the wooden shutters of the cabin painting it. He had already finished painting the roof, and was just completing the last shutter. To reach them he had to climb out a window, 'squirrel' up one of the radio antennas and somehow make his way from it to the shutter. The shutters were installed in 1937, have deteriorated to a marked extent and would be completely unsafe for a weight much lighter than Mr. Devitt's.
I admire Ken's courage and his willingness to tackle a most hazardous job. He takes intense pride in keeping his lookout in perfect condition at all times. I think that in this instance his desire to improve the looks of the run-down roof and shutters overbalances his otherwise good judgment.
I have asked Mr. Schroeder to investigate the incident. I am especially interested in learning (1) who authorized the paint job (2) who, theoretically, was responsible for its being done safely (3) why even rudimentary safety practices were ignored." (Forest Supervisor, file)
May 12, 1954: "On April 26, 1954, I inspected the Bakers Butte Lookout Station. In my inspection report, the comment was made that "tower shutters needed repainting"; however, I did not include this item in the action list. As near as I can recall, this job was not included for action because, (1) there was no apparent way to do the job without constructing a relatively expensive scaffold, (2) the shutters are badly deteriorated and should be replaced within the next few years. For the time being, they reduce the glare from the sun as well as new shutters and protect the cab glass during the winter. (3) The shutters are raised during all or practically all of the period that this station is accessible and, consequently, the badly weathered tops of the shutters are not an eyesore. Neither Messrs. Bell nor Brewer were aware that the job in question was being done until it had been completed.
In regard to tour specific questions, the following information is offered following my investigation:
(1) No one seems to have authorized the paint job. As you know, Mr. Devitt is an especially conscientious individual. My casual remark to the effect that the shutters needed painting, made at the time of the inspecting the station, was evidently construed by Mr. Devitt as constituting authorization to proceed with the job.
(2) Mr. Laurel Brewer is responsible for carrying out such jobs in a safe manner.
(3) I wonder if Mr. Devitt was aware of all the hazards involved." (Memo to Forest Supervisor from V.J. Schroeder, Forester)
November 20, 1973: "The 10 people who have been manning the lookout towers since May left their posts as the snows moved in. They are not expected to return to their posts until the end of March.
The snows fell so rapidly on the mountains that most lookouts were just barely able to make it to town. The Baker Butte lookout officer was snowed in completely and had to be rescued by forest rangers." (The Sun - Flagstaff)
2008: A steel catwalk was added in the fall.
STATION RECOVERY (1936)
RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1936 (JB)
RECOVERED AS ESTABLISHED, IN GOOD CONDITION. ONE ADDITIONAL
REFERENCE MARK AND AN AZIMUTH MARK ESTABLISHED AT THIS
OCCUPATION OF THE STATION. REVISED DESCRIPTION OF THE STATION
FOLLOWS--15 MILES NORTH BY WEST OF PAYSON, IN THE COCONINO
NATIONAL FOREST, ABOUT 6-1/2 MILES SOUTH OF LONG VALLEY STORE,
ON THE SUMMIT OF BAKER BUTTE, JUST NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM,
DIRECTLY BENEATH THE CENTER OF THE NEW FIRE LOOKOUT TOWER NOW
BEING CONSTRUCTED ON THE SUMMIT, IN TOP OF A LARGE BOULDER
ABOUT 2-1/2 FEET HIGH, A STANDARD STATION DISK STAMPED BAKER
BUTTE 1919.
TO REACH THE STATION FROM THE CITY HALL AT WINSLOW, GO WEST
ON U.S. HIGHWAY 66 FOR 2.0 MILES AND TURN LEFT (SOUTH) ON THE
PINE AND PAYSON GRADED ROAD JUST AFTER PASSING THE ATCHISON,
TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILWAY SHOPS. THENCE SOUTHERLY ON THE MAIN
GRADED ROAD, PASSING THROUGH COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST, FOR
52.5 MILES AND TAKE LEFT FORK AT LONG VALLEY STORE, THENCE 11.6
MILES ON THE MAIN GRADED ROAD AND TURN LEFT ON THE MOGOLLON
RIM ROAD, THENCE 2.3 MILES AND TURN RIGHT ON ROAD AT SIGN
BAKER BUTTE FIRE LOOKOUT, THENCE 0.35 MILE TO THE LOOKOUT
TOWER ON THE SUMMIT, AND THE STATION.