CUSTER COUNTY
COUGAR CREEK
Challis National Forest
16N-13E-27
16N-13E-27
c.1930: A log cabin (Kresek)
1934: An L-4 cab built atop a first floor of log cribbing. (Kresek)
August 28, 1937: "CCC enrollees at the Loon Creek Spike Camp have started a miniature gold rush. Spare moments not devoted to building a truck trail through Idaho's primitive area to the Cougar Forest Service Lookout are spent panning gold from Loon Creek."(Daily News – Intermountain Region)
May 21, 1965: "Cougar Lookout on the Challis National Forest was last used in 1942 and has since become a public safety hazard and a potential fire source.
Ranger Harold Wadley reports that the weakened sides and broken windows will soon be dismantled and the site restored to its original appearance of sagebrush, grass and an unobstructed skyline.
Many lookouts that were built in the early 1930's as Cougar Lookout was, are no longer needed for forest protection. They were built as secondary detection stations to be manned during critical fire weather periods. Some, like Cougar Lookout, served as interforest switchboards for the National Forest phone lines. When a break occurred in the line due to wind or other factors, the lookout headed out afoot or on horseback to search out the trouble spot and restore communications.
With the advent of radios, more strategically located lookouts, and the use of airplanes and helicopters, some of these once important structures became obsolete. The use of aerial detection craft resulted in a considerable saving since they could be dispatched while a lightning storm was in progress over the forest and carry a load of smoke-jumpers or other attack forces while locating the various fires. These aircraft are equipped with radios which enable the pilot to relay information about the fire to attack personnel on the ground. Before the use of aircraft to detect and suppress forest fires many acres of valuable watershed were burned before proper communications and information about the fire could be relayed to the ground crews. Most of these changes in fire detection methods occurred during and after World War II." (The Post-Register)
1967: Destroyed (Kresek)
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