From: Brad Eells
Hello Fire Rangers and Lookout Fans,
Here is your long awaited update on our San Diego County Fire Detection Program:
Fire Rangers?? Where did that term come from? An excellent article on our Colorado-Utah Chapter. Read here: http://vernal.com/detail/331439.html
Training: 16 new volunteers completed 16 hours of classroom training on May 15th. Nearly all of them have completed their additional 8 hours of In-Tower Training and have begun serving shifts at High Point Lookout.
Welcome aboard new volunteers! High Point Lookout: Bill Bollenbacher, Duncan Campbell, George Greer and I prepared High Point for opening on Sunday, May 16th. Bill called High Point in-service for the first time in 2010 on May 24th…after solving a little lock problem…
We’ve had well over 100 visitors at the tower since opening. The structure is undergoing a final review for safety improvements that will allow us to open it to the public…stay tuned… A pair of House Finches have made High Point home…they are nesting in one of the roof vents. A pair is now four, with 2 new arrivals!
Weather station: Volunteer and Forest Communications Guy, Duncan Campbell has installed a Davis Weather Station on High Point. You can check the weather at High Point right now at: http://aprs.fi/weather/KF6ILA-10
The weather sensors are solar powered and have a wireless system that reports to a display in the cab and to a radio reporting to the internet…pretty cool and high tech…thank you Duncan! Duncan has also brought up a propane grille and picnic table for volunteer use…thanks again!
Communications: A tool shed is being refurbished at Palomar Fire Station that will allow our volunteers to carry a radio for the trip to High Point from the station increasing our safety factors. Rex Templeton of Forest Facilities and the Engine 36 crew is doing the work…thank you!
First Aid Kits: A new USFS Type II crew first aid kit has been installed in the cab along with 2 Type I kits for the evacuation pack…thanks to Battalion Chief Wes Ruise for getting these items to us.
Fire Activity: Whew…there has been lots of fire activity already this year. Most of the incidents have been down low in the grassy areas of both counties. New volunteer Donna Fleming caught site of a fire very near my home. It had not yet been reported. We did our Smoke Report and Donna’s husband Wes was keying up to report the smoke when the alarm came up on the Riverside County frequency…missed a first report by that much…The Scott Incident scorched 40 acres only 2 miles from my house! Thanks for the sharp eye Donna!
Golden Eagle Tracking: High Point will be working with Palomar Ranger District Resource Officer, Jeff Wells and the Wildlife Research Institute in Ramona to help track Golden Eagle activity around Palomar Mountain. A tracking antenna and recording log will be added at High Point to help move this project forward. Learn more here: www.wildlife-research.org/wildlifenewsVol6.pdf
We’re pretty excited about the opportunity…thanks Jeff!
Boucher Hill Lookout: Minor repair work was done in February to keep water from entering the structure and damaging it further. Cal Fire is still working on a rehab plan with State Parks to do repair and mitigation work on the structure before transferring it to Palomar Mountain State Park. Our hope is the work and transfer can occur yet this year. We are working on Cooperating Association agreement with State Parks that will allow us to finish the restoration and operate the lookout. Boucher Hill has one of the best access opportunities for the public with a paved road and parking lot within the park. Our desire is to turn it into a Fire Detection showplace!
New interpretive panels will soon be installed on the observation deck next to the tower telling the story of San Diego County Fixed Point Fire Detection.
Lyons Peak Lookout: Very little has changed at this time. A road easement agreement is being pursued by various agencies and property owners. One of our members pointed out the new SDG&E Sunrise Powerlink route runs directly between Lyons Peak Lookout and Los Pinos Lookout. We have sent a comment to the Forest Supervisor suggesting the project and forest will benefit from the re-opening of Lyons Peak…perhaps this thought will help move us forward there… Santa Margarita Lookout: The former lookout site was located just north of Camp Pendleton and Case Springs Fire Station. The lookout was destroyed in March 1988 when a Marine helicopter struck the tower. I have recently received 10 new photos of the accident scene and an eyewitness account. I hope to get them up on the website shortly.
Trabuco Ranger District volunteer Jay Gentile recently visited the site and found the remains of the lookout still there! FFLA may propose to relocate the Estelle Mountain Lookout currently serving as a control tower at Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base to Santa Margarita. Apparently the Camp Pendleton Fire Chief likes the idea! My Lookout ‘Walkabout’: I am leaving at 3:30 am tomorrow for a shift at the Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association’s Slide Mountain Lookout. Thanks to Southern California FFLA Directors George and Pam Morey for arranging the visit. Slide Mountain has a cab identical to High Point on a 10 foot block tower located west of Pyramid Lake off Interstate 5 in the Grapevine area. On Monday I will visit South Mountain Lookout built by the Ventura County Fire Department. County lookouts are very rare with only 2 others known to stand; Tollgate and Annette in Kern County. I will proceed to Figueroa Mtn and La Cumbre Peak on the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara. Sid Ormsbee near Carmel and Basalt Hill west of Los Banos will follow. These lookouts are 2 of 3 other remaining CDF 809R lookouts, just like Boucher Hill. I will complete the trip with a visit to Cal Fire’s Smith Mountain Lookout near King City. Cal Fire is turning it over to a private property owner who is interested in restoring it. Smith Mountain is a CL-30 like High Point on a 10 foot block tower that was relocated from Black Mountain on the Los Padres NF.
I will be attending the Forest Fire Lookout Associations Western Conference in Grangeville, Idaho beginning on the 24th. My son and I will tour north central Idaho, western Montana and Spokane WA with trips to the Lookout Museum and USFS Heritage Workshops.
Keep On Detecting! Thanks to all the volunteers who are working nearly daily at High Point. We are going to have an active fire season. We value every hour you put into the program and appreciate your service. Contact me directly to schedule your shifts. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support and interest in the FFLA San Diego – Riverside Fire Detection Project.
Regards, Brad Eells, National Secretary – Chapter Chairman
Forest Fire Lookout Association, Inc. San Diego – Riverside Chapter
Palomar Mountain News 
Leave a comment