The air was crisp, if not a little damp, on this spectacular autumn morning at the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower in Indiana.
The air was crisp, if not a little damp, on this spectacular autumn morning at the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower in the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Constructed in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the 110-foot steel structure features a seven-foot-square cab manufactured by the Aermotor Company and was initially equipped with an alidade for fire location.
The tower ceased to be staffed in the 1970s, and it now serves as an observation point on the boundary of the Deam Wilderness.
So if we no longer have fire towers, do we just use aircraft to locate fires now?
We now rely on citizen reporting, aircraft, and advanced satellite imaging. Additionally, many jurisdictions have installed ground-based sensors that detect smoke and heat that effectively replace humans in towers.
(Former career fire department Lieutenant here.)