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Fire lookout · Siskiyou County, California

China Peak Lookout Site

Siskiyou County lookout on the Klamath NF, completed 1937 (West Lookouts says 1939); sold as surplus and dismantled in 1972; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Sold as surplus and dismantled in 1972; West Lookouts says parts were recycled into a nearby cabin; OpenStreetMap entry gives no date

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
Enclosed towerCalifornia Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on an enclosed timber towerThe design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Built
1937
Height
25 ft (7.6 m)
Elevation
4,151 ft (1,265 m)
Agency
US Forest Service, Klamath National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Siskiyou County, California
Coordinates
41.83628, −123.27631
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-china-peak

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.

Downloads about 3.7 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. 1928 StaffedDecember 1928 newspaper item on an observer at a China Mountain lookout; not confirmed to be China Peak, so it is not used to change the 1937 built dateSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1937 BuiltCompleted in 1937 per the Former Fire Lookout Sites registerSource: firetower.org
  3. 1939 BuiltWest Lookouts says the lookout was completed in 1939 by the Seiad CCC Camp F176; conflicts with the 1937 register dateSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1939 and 1960
  5. 1960 StaffedMrs. George Souza left Seiad Valley to serve as look-out for the rest of the fire season at China PeakSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1963 StaffedMrs. Souza had spent several summers on the China Peak lookout out of Seiad Valley; last documented staffing in the sources readSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1972 RemovedSold as surplus and dismantled (register); purchased at auction and removed, parts recycled into a nearby cabin (West Lookouts)Sources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1972 and 2020
  9. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 16, 2020 as US 2014, CA 131Source: firetower.org
  10. 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 Former Fire Lookout Sites register says China Peak was completed in 1937 as a California Region 5 cabin on an enclosed timber tower, on the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County.1 West Lookouts gives a later date, 1939, when a Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Seiad finished the lookout.2 A 1952 survey-station description, reproduced on the same page, puts the station about six miles northeast of Happy Camp and calls the lookout a standard 14-foot square, about 25 feet high.2

A December 1928 item, also reprinted there, says airmail pilots regularly dropped papers and magazines to the observer at a China Mountain lookout.2 If that item describes this lookout, it predates the register's 1937 date.1,2 Mrs. George Souza worked the lookout for several summers in the early 1960s, based in Seiad Valley.2

The register says the lookout was sold off as surplus and taken apart in 1972.1 West Lookouts says it was bought at auction and removed, and that its parts were recycled into a nearby cabin.2

An OpenStreetMap entry still carries the name China Peak Lookout, but it gives no date and does not describe what is standing.3 No source read describes what remains at the site today, or whether visitors can reach it.

  1. China Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/china-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. China Creek (China Peak entry), Forest Lookouts, West Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/china-creek.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. China Peak Lookout, OpenStreetMap way 1208412145, https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1208412145 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

China Peak Lookout
China Peak LookoutPhoto: Nancy Hood Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Structure Dismantling Beginning - 1972
Structure Dismantling Beginning - 1972 (1972)Photo: Nancy Hood Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

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
    • FFLOS: Gone
    • OpenStreetMap: Standing

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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
  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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height 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, 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

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