More commonly called firewatch towers, or watchtowers, these tall structures are built on stilts sometimes up to 50 meters high above the treetops. These structures play a crucial role in keeping our national parks safe. Their main function is to allow park rangers to spot smoke from wildfires, but over the years fire lookout towers have evolved to play new important roles. These range from acting as shelters for park rangers or parkgoers, to serving as weather and environmental research stations.

Historically, the concept of such towers goes back to time immemoriam. There are many ancient ruins scattered throughout the landscape of The Holy Grind; many of them you can visit as part of guided tours. However, the first "modern" fire lookout tower dates back to 1898 when the first generation of towers appeared throughout the land. 

1898-1905 First generation towers were often built on pre-existing natural structures, such as tall trees or rocky outcrops that overlooked the local area. These early structures were simple, cheap and inconspicuous, making them ideal for remote hazardous areas. However, despite making up for their lack of defences by their low profiles, the tree platforms were often dangerously at risk of severe damage or destruction during windstorms. As for those built on ground level on top of hills or relief, fire lookouts would often find themselves unable to exit their shelter as the local wildlife quickly adapted to this  newfound food source.

1906-1923 Second generation towers came from a need to insure greater safety for lookouts. Towers of the second generation are have distinct qualities such as heavier steel frames and reinforced barred windows. The increased strength made it safer to build at great heights without the risk of windstorms destroying them. The strategy was now to make these towers not only more resistant but also more self-sufficient. Many new technologies like the McGillycutty rain-collector and smokers were installed in these towers during the early 1910s to allow lookouts to remain safely in the tower without the need to climb down for weeks at a time. Today, many second generation towers have been renovated and upgraded to meet the new functions that towers must insure. Their sturdy design is what allows them to continue to give them purpose even a century after the last of their kind was built.

1923-Present Third generation towers approached the issues of the first generation towers with a new design philosophy. Where the towers build during the first quarter of the century had heavy metal frames to protect them from damage, this generation of towers were carefully designed with strong lumber frames. Their silouhettes were re-imagined to allow the wind to flow past them easier. The lightened load also allowed such towers to be build in areas where the ground was up to then too soft to build towers. Many upgrades came with this generation of towers such as electric lighting and improved sanitation. Many first had no trust in this new design. a significant proportion of lookouts thought that the wooden construction was a step backwards in the design of the towers. They feared that these new structures lacked in protection from wildlife compared to the steel towers. Thus, many active protection systems were mounted on the towers. The most commonly installed modules include chemical or geometric repelllents, sound alarms, special wards or powerful talismans. Towers of the third generation are the most common tower you can find today. Many of these towers have recieved upgrades to modernize them and allow them to fulfill the new roles that they play in our national parks.