Part 2/9:
The history of fire lookouts stretches back over a century and is closely tied to a catastrophic event in the summer of 1910. At that time, rampant logging and railway construction intersected with an unyielding dry season and lightning storms, igniting a massive wildfire that consumed over 3 million acres and claimed 86 lives. This disaster galvanized the nascent U.S. Forest Service, which had been struggling to establish its worth at a time when it lacked both resources and public support.