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Fire lookout · Apache County, Arizona

Big Lake Lookout

CCC-built 32-foot Aermotor tower in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Apache County, AZ; destroyed in the 2011 Wallow Fire; no source describes the site since.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Destroyed in the Wallow Fire in June 2011; no source describes what remains at the site.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower32-foot Aermotor MC-24 tower with a 12-by-12-foot live-in cabThe design: Aermotor MC-24
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
9,415 ft (2,870 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests
Land
Federal land
Location
Apache County, Arizona
Coordinates
33.86200, −109.39148
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-big-lake

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 2.9 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1933 BuiltErected by Civilian Conservation Corps members (Big Lake Knoll history); register says constructed by the CCC in 1933Sources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1933 and 2009
  3. 2009 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 2, 2009; nominated by Dave LorenzSource: nhlr.org
  4. 2011 DestroyedRegister says destroyed in the Wallow Fire in June 2011; Big Lake Knoll history dates the loss to June 4, 2011Sources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 2011 FireWallow Fire began May 29, 2011, in Arizona; the central part burned through the Big Lake recreation areaSource: iawfonline.org
  6. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Big Lake Lookout stood in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Apache County, Arizona.1 Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps erected its 32-foot Aermotor MC-24 tower in 1933.1,2 The register describes a live-in cab measuring 12 by 12 feet.1

The National Historic Lookout Register added the lookout on September 2, 2009, on the nomination of Dave Lorenz.1 Two years later the lookout was lost to fire.1

The Wallow Fire began in Arizona on May 29, 2011.3 A fire photographer's account of the blaze places its central part in the Big Lake recreation area.3 The register says the Wallow Fire destroyed the lookout in June 2011.1 The Big Lake Knoll history page dates the loss to June 4, 2011, when flames overran the tower.2

The Forest Fire Lookout Association's list marks the tower as gone.4 No source we read describes what, if anything, remains at the site today.

  1. Big Lake Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/big-lake-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Big Lake Knoll, Forest Lookouts, https://westlookouts.weebly.com/big-lake-knoll.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. GALLERY: Wallow Fire, Arizona, USA, 2011, International Association of Wildland Fire, https://www.iawfonline.org/article/gallery-wallow-fire-arizona-usa-2011/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Arizona lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Big Lake Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.