FOREST LOOKOUTS
  • WESTERN STATES
  • ALASKA
  • ARIZONA
    • Antelope Mountain
    • Apache Maid
    • Atascosa Mountain
    • Aztec Peak
    • Baboquivari
    • Baker Butte
    • Barfoot
    • Bear Mountain
    • Big Lake Knoll
    • Big Springs
    • Bill Williams Mountain
    • Black Pinnacle
    • Black Rock
    • Blue
    • Blue Ridge..
    • Blue Ridge C
    • Blue Ridge Tree
    • Bonita Rock
    • Bright Angel Point
    • Buck Mountain
    • Buckskin
    • Cerro Gordo
    • Chedeski Peak
    • Chevelon Butte
    • Clark Peak
    • Colcord Mountain - 1
    • Colcord Mountain - 2
    • Cooper Ridge - Tree
    • Corral Lake - Tree
    • East Pocket
    • Escudilla
    • Fly Peak
    • Grandview
    • Greens Peak
    • Hopi Point
    • Huachuca Peak
    • Hyde Mountain
    • Jacob Lake
    • Juniper Ridge
    • Kendrick Peak
    • Lemmon Rock
    • Limestone
    • Madera Peak
    • McFadden Peak
    • Miller Peak
    • Mingus Mountain
    • Monte Vista
    • Morman Lake
    • Mount Baldy
    • Mount Bigelow
    • Mount Eldon
    • Mount Lemmon
    • Mount Union
    • O'Leary Peak
    • Pat Knoll
    • Promontory Butte
    • Red Butte
    • Rose Peak
    • San Francisco Peaks
    • Soldier Camp
    • Spruce Mountain
    • Spud Rock
    • Sugarloaf Mountain
    • Summit Mountain
    • Volunteer Mountain
    • Webb Peak
  • COLORADO
    • Air Force Academy
    • Alta Mine
    • Archuleta Mesa
    • Badger Mountain
    • Baldy Mountain..
    • Bears Ears
    • Beaver Mountain
    • Benchmark
    • Blue Mountain
    • Burnett Mine
    • Burro Peak
    • Castle Peak
    • Chapin Mesa
    • Cheyenne Mountain
    • Chimney Rock
    • Crown Point
    • Deadman
    • Devil Mountain
    • Devil's Head
    • Eagles Nest
    • Eightmile Mesa
    • Fairview Peak
    • Fire Station #4 (Colorado Springs)
    • Glade Mountain
    • Hahns Peak
    • Jersey Jim
    • Lands End Point
    • Leadville Postoffice
    • Leon Peak
    • Longs Peak
    • Lookout Mountain
    • Lookout Mountain
    • Lookout Mountain
    • Midland Hill
    • Monarch Peak
    • Mount Ethel
    • Narraguinnep
    • Owl Mountain
    • Park Point
    • Parkview
    • Pike's Peak
    • Prohibition Mountain
    • Round Top
    • Sandoval Mesa
    • Shadow Mountain
    • Sleepy Cat Mountain
    • Soda Point
    • Squaw Mountain
    • Sugarloaf
    • Thorodin
    • Twin Sisters
    • Walden
    • West White Pine
    • Whites Mesa
    • Williams Peak
    • Zenobia
  • NEBRASKA
    • Crescent Lake (North)
    • Crescent Lake (South)
    • Fort Niobrara NWR (Big Beaver Creek)
    • Fort Niobrara NWR (Headquarters)
    • Eagle Point
    • Scott's
    • Valentine NWR (Hackberry)
    • Valentine NWR (Pony Lake)
    • Winnebago
  • NEW MEXICO
    • Alamo Peak
    • Armstrong
    • Atole
    • Bandelier
    • Barillis Peak
    • Bearhead
    • Bearwallow
    • Black Mountain
    • Block (Smokey Bear)
    • Blue Mountain
    • Bluewater
    • Boiler Peak
    • Bosque Peak
    • Brushy
    • Canjilon
    • Capilla Peak
    • Carracas
    • Carrissa
    • Cedar Springs
    • Cedro Peak
    • Cerro Pelado
    • Cerro Valdez
    • Cienegita
    • Clara Peak
    • Dark Canyon
    • Davenport
    • Deadmans Peak
    • Diamond Peak
    • Eagle Peak
    • El Caso
    • El Morro
    • Encino
    • Five Mile
    • Fox Mountain
    • Gallinas Peak
    • Gavilan Ridge
    • Glorieta Baldy
    • Granite Peak
    • Grass Mountain
    • Grassy Mountain
    • Grouse Mountain
    • Harley Mountain
    • Hermit Peak
    • Highland Park
    • Hillsboro Peak
    • Isleta
    • James Ridge
    • Jicarita Peak
    • Joaquin
    • John Kerr
    • Kiowa Mountain
    • La Mosca Peak
    • Lake Peak
    • Lookout Mountain (Cibola)
    • Lookout Mountain (Gila)
    • Lookout Mountain (Lincoln)
    • Luera Peak
    • Magdalena mountains (N.M. Tech)
    • Mangas
    • Manzano
    • Mayhill
    • McGaffey
    • Mesa de Cuba
    • Mogollon Baldy
    • Monjeau
    • Mount Powell
    • Mount Sedgwick
    • Mount Taylor
    • Mount Withington
    • Mud Spring
    • Negrito Mountain
    • Osborne
    • Oscujra Peak
    • Oso Ridge
    • Parjarita Mountain
    • Picuris
    • Pine Lodge
    • Rabbit Mountain
    • Red Top
    • Reed's Peak
    • Rosilla
    • Ruidoso
    • Sacramento Peak
    • Saddle Mountain
    • San Antonio
    • San Mateo
    • Sierra Blanca
    • Signal Peak
    • Silver
    • South Baldy
    • The Dome
    • Tohatchi
    • Tohnitsha
    • Turkey
    • Tuscon Mountain
    • Wagontongue
    • Washington Pass
    • Weed Ranger Station
    • Wells
    • White's Peak
    • Whitewater Baldy
    • Wirt
    • Wofford
    • General and Misc., New Mexico
  • NEVADA
    • Ella Mountain
    • Fire Sciences Academy
    • McClellan Peak
    • Peavine Mountain
    • Yellow Peak
    • Zephyr Point
    • Alert (Tahoe)
  • NORTH DAKOTA
  • SOUTH DAKOTA
    • Battle Mountain
    • Bear Mountain
    • Boulder Hill
    • Castle Peak
    • Cicero Peak
    • Crows Nest Peak
    • Custer Peak
    • Elk Mountain
    • Flag Mountain
    • Harney Peak
    • LaCreek NWR
    • Lakota Peak
    • Lookout Peak
    • Medicine Butte
    • Moon
    • Mount Coolidge
    • Norris Peak
    • Parker Peak
    • Pilger Mountain
    • Porcupine Butte
    • Rankin Ridge
    • Sand Lake NWR #1
    • Sand Lake NWR #2
    • Seth Bullock
    • Signal Hill
    • South Tower
    • Summit Ridge
    • Terry Peak
    • Veterans
    • Waubay (NWR)
  • UTAH
    • Bald Mountain
    • Bear River M.B.R. (Headquarters)
    • Bear River M.B.R. (Perry Entrance)
    • Brian Head
    • Ensign Peak
    • Hardinger Firetree (Beef tree)
    • Horse Valley Peak
    • Lake Fork Mountain
    • Lava Point
    • Meadow Creek Peak
    • Mt Terrel
    • Ogden Ordinance Depot
    • Mt Timpanogos
    • Salt Lake City (Walker Bank Bldg)
    • Tooele Army Depot
    • Ute Mountain
    • Whipple Peak
    • Wolf Creek Peak
  • WYOMING
    • Bald Mountain
    • Bald Mountain (Big Piney)
    • Baldy Mountain
    • Barrett Ridge
    • Bayer Mountain
    • Bechler
    • Big Game Ridge
    • Black Mountain (Big Horn)
    • Black Mountain (Medicine Bow)
    • Blackhall Mountain
    • Blacktail Butte
    • Blondy Pass
    • Blue Ridge
    • Bow
    • Bradley Mountain
    • Bridger Peak
    • Bunsen Peak
    • Cabin Creek Peak
    • Cement Ridge
    • Clay Butte
    • Clayton Mountain
    • Crow Peak
    • Crow's Nest
    • Dead Indian
    • Deadline Ridge
    • Deadman Mountain
    • Deer Creek Mountain
    • Divide
    • Elk Mountain
    • Elk Peak
    • Esterbrook Hill
    • Fletcher Park
    • Forellen Peak
    • Hawks Rest
    • High Park
    • Homestake
    • Hominy Peak
    • Horseshoe mountain
    • Huckleberry Mountain
    • Hunters Mesa
    • Hunters Peak
    • Jay's Roost
    • Jelm Mountain
    • Kennaday Peak
    • Little Sheep Mountain
    • Lookout Mountain
    • Medicine Bow Peak
    • Monument Ridge
    • Mount Chittenden
    • Mount Holmes
    • Mount Pisgah
    • Mount Sheridan
    • Mount Washburn
    • Munger Mointain
    • Observation Peak
    • Pelican Cone
    • Pinnacle Butte
    • Prospect Peak
    • Red Cloud
    • Seven Mile
    • Sheep Mountain
    • Signal Mountain
    • Slash Ridge
    • Snake River
    • Somber Hill
    • Spalding
    • Spruce Mountain
    • Steamboat Point
    • Two-Ocean Plateau
    • Warm Springs
    • Warren Peaks
    • Wendy Mountain
    • Willow Creek
    • Windy Mountain
    • Wyoming Peak

salt lake city  (walker bank bldg)

Salt Lake County
Wasatch National Forest
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April 2009
Ron Kemnow photo

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July 27, 1939: "Utilizing the many-storied Walker Bank Building as a lookout, the Wasatch National Forest has again manned this post in the present hazardous period for coverage of the Wasatch Mountain front and foothill country surrounding Salt Lake Valley. Proving its worth promptly, this lookout station has during the past few days quickly spotted and reported several fires in the foothill section that were speedily suppressed before gaining headway and spreading to the steeper and highly inflammable brusg covered slopes." (Daily News – Intermountain Region)

July 27, 1939:  "The new forest fire lookout established recently atop the Walker Bank building tower proved its worth Wednesday noon when the guard sighted a blaze at the block U north of Douglas.  A forest service truck and CCC crew was dispatched to the scene immediately and succeeded in halting the fire after it had burned over less than one acre."  (The Salt Lake Tribune)

July 14, 1941:  "Erected as a safety precaution against forest fires, a fire lookout station was in operation atop the Walker Bank building Sunday with operators on duty 12 hours a day to spot possible conflagrations in Salt Lake valley forest areas.
     Long contemplated by officials of the forest service, the lookout station will be maintained jointly by the Salt Lake City water department and the United States forest service.
     Jay M. Hamilton of Salt Lake City has been employed to occupy the station as lookout, and will have at his disposal facilities connecting him directly with the forest service fire dispatcher, J.E. Gurr, Wasatch forest supervisor, said Sunday.
     The lofty height of the Walker Bank building and its centralized location will afford the lookout a clear view of the entire valley, and enable him to spot fires 'almost instantly,' Mr. Gurr said.  The lookout will be maintained from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., the period during which forest fires usually occur, the official said.
     Mr. Gurr said there have been only a minimum of forest fires in this area during 1941, most of those which have occurred being minor grass fires near Ensign peak.
     The lookout station was established to cut down further the possibilities of a major fire in the vast forest areas in the valley, Mr. Gurr asserted."  (The Salt Lake Tribune)

October 2, 1941:  "Officials of the Wasatch National Forest believe they have the only lookout station in America atop a downtown office building.
     The station was installed on the roof of the Walker bank building in Salt Lake City -- a 15-story structure.
     Officials said the location of the tower in the center of the Salt Lake valley would permit the lookout to "spot" fires over an area of 25 miles."  (The Times - San Mateo, Ca.)

October 31, 1941:  "A letter has been sent to officials of the Walker Bank and Trust company, thanking them for allowing the forest service to establish a lookout station on the top of the building, Mr. Gurr reported.
     'In loaning the forest service the use of your lookout tower, you have been rendering the public of this city a valuable and unselfish service for which we are all grateful,' the letter said."  (The Salt Lake Tribune)

June 24, 1944:  "James Sarvis, 16-year-old veteran fire-watcher, has returned to his post atop Salt Lake City's tallest building and scans the horizon every few minutes through binoculars for fires in Wasatch national forest.
     He has located three since the4 close of school.  He joined the U.S. forest service a year ago."  (Ogden Standard-Examiner)

June 16, 1946:  "It's a rugged life, this business of being a forest fire watcher.  But not for ex-serviceman Christian Jensen.  He's doing his job amid the roaring traffic's boom in downtown Salt Lake City.
     From his citified forest fire lookout, located on top of the Walker Bank building, Jensen scans the nearby slopes of the Wasatch mountains for evidences of forest fires.
     He's new at his job but in spite of his metropolitan surroundings, Jensen wants to become a full-fledged forest ranger and next year draw an assignment not quite so civilized."  (Ogden Standard-Examiner)

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Member:  Forest Fire Lookout Association

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