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Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Mormon Lake Lookout

Coconino NF tower: 1915 wooden tower, 1927 Aermotor replacement; cabin NRHP-listed 1988 and collapsed 2018; tower demolished by 2024, only rubble left.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower demolished by 2024 with only rubble remaining (FFLOS); NHLR says removed by 2024; West Lookouts says removed 2019; cabin collapsed December 2018

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. The Forest had removed the lowest stair treads to deter public access (2018 federal review); no source read describes current access to the site

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower48' Aermotor LX-24 steel tower with 7'x7' metal cab, replacing a 1915 wooden towerThe design: Aermotor LX-24 / LX-25
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1915
Height
48 ft (14.6 m)
Elevation
7,977 ft (2,431 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.88668, −111.42793
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-mormon-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 its recorded height.

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

History

Then and now

  1. 1915 BuiltWooden tower built at a reported cost of $139 (NHLR); West Lookouts gives 1914-18 and $139.63Sources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com, npgallery.nps.gov
  2. 1920 FireFire near Allen Lake found by lookout fire guard J.E. Wiley; traced to a camping party in charge of L.V. Rush, who was fined $10Source: westlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1927 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  4. 1927 Replaced by a new structure48-foot steel Aermotor LX-24 tower with 7 x 7 cab replaced the earlier wood towerSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1928 BuiltCabin for the lookout, dated 1928 by the federal reviewSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  6. No record between 1928 and 1953
  7. 1953 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Sam Saunders stationed at the lookout for the summerSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1953 and 1988
  9. 1988 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesCabin entered into the National Register on January 28, 1988; the tower was found ineligibleSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  10. No record between 1988 and 2006
  11. 2006 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 15, 2006 as US 677, AZ 64Source: nhlr.org
  12. 2018 EventCabin collapsed in December 2018 after lack of maintenanceSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  13. 2019 Condition assessmentCoconino NF proposed removing the tower and cabin remains; SHPO concurred with the Forest's decision to delist the cabin from the Register in a letter dated February 20, 2019Source: npgallery.nps.gov
  14. 2019 RemovedWest Lookouts says the tower was removed in 2019 (single source)Source: westlookouts.weebly.com
  15. 2024 RemovedNHLR lists the tower removed by 2024; FFLOS says it was demolished by 2024, with only rubble remainingSources: nhlr.org, firetower.org
  16. 2026 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered January 2, 2026 as US 2121, AZ 2Source: firetower.org
  17. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The first Mormon Lake lookout was a wooden tower raised in 1915 at a reported cost of $139.1,2 A later history page gives the cost as $139.63 and dates the tower to 1914 to 1918.3 In 1927 a steel Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab replaced it.3 The NHLR gives the height as 48 feet, while the 2018 federal review gives 50.1,2

The federal review dates the cabin to 1928, and it was entered on the National Register on January 28, 1988.2 The same review found the tower ineligible for the Register because it had lost historic integrity.2

In June 1920 the lookout fire guard, J.E. Wiley, found a fire near Allen Lake and traced it to a camping party, in charge of L.V. Rush.3 Rush was let off with a fine of $10.3 In summer 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Sam Saunders were stationed at the lookout.3

The cabin, which deteriorated from vandalism, weathering and lack of routine maintenance, collapsed in December 2018.2 Earlier, the Forest had removed the lowest tower stair treads to deter public access.2 The Coconino National Forest proposed removing the tower and the cabin remains.2 In a letter dated February 20, 2019, the state historic preservation officer concurred with the Forest's decision to delist the cabin from the Register.2 One history page says the tower came down in 2019.3 The NHLR lists it as removed by 2024, and the Former Fire Lookout Sites register says it was demolished by 2024.1,4

According to the register, debris is all that remains of the tower.4 No source I read describes what is left of the cabin, or whether visitors can reach the site now.

  1. Mormon Lake Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/mormon-lake-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Mormon Lake Lookout Cabin, NRHP documentation, Coconino National Forest, NPGallery (National Park Service), https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c6b545a5-3dea-40d3-835a-adedc5b6153c (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Morman Lake - Forest Lookouts, West Lookouts, https://westlookouts.weebly.com/morman-lake.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Mormon Lake Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/az/mormon-lake-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Mormon Lake Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Mormon Lake Lookout
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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
    • FFLOS: Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. 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
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: what it is built of, design, height, links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, 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

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