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Fire lookout · Lassen County, California

Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak)

Also known as Don Landon Lookout, Landon

Standing Cal Fire lookout on Greens Peak near Eagle Lake: 1948-49 predecessor, 1974 current tower, NHLR-registered 2019; usually staffed in fire season per a Peakbagging photo page dated August 6, 2002.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. NHLR says the site is not readily accessible to the public, about 4 miles from paved road (MVT 10/91). A Peakbagging photo caption mentions a sign with visiting hours. No current access rules found.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
About 4 miles from paved road (NHLR). Check with CAL FIRE Lassen-Modoc Unit before visiting.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2002)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Enclosed towerCab essentially a 732-6A design on tower plan 880-1A, the same tower plan as Fredonyer's (NHLR)The design: CDF 732-6A
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1948
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
7,145 ft (2,178 m)
Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Lassen-Modoc Unit
Land
Unknown
Location
Lassen County, California
Coordinates
40.50684, −120.70537
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-don-landon-greens-peak

View from the cab

What you see from the 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.

Downloads about 3.5 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. 1948 BuiltNHLR: an earlier structure erected in 1948, later replaced. A June 30, 1948 newspaper item said a new 30-foot steel tower would probably be built on Green's Peak.Sources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1949 BuiltOriginal structure opened September 4, 1949 (NHLR and tipurdy.org). Named for Donald A. Landon. Tipurdy says it was in reality a remodeled naval tower. Conflicts with the 1948 date; see resolved_conflicts.Sources: nhlr.org, tipurdy.org
  3. 1952 EventLookout dedicated to Donald A. Landon, killed in action in Europe in 1944. Newspaper says the new tower was placed under construction two years earlier and completed earlier in 1952.Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1952 and 1974
  5. 1974 BuiltNHLR: the current Don Landon Lookout was constructed in 1974 and replaced the older structure erected in 1948.Source: nhlr.org
  6. 1979 Replaced by a new structureJune 6, 1979 Lassen County Times item: a new tower replaced a World War II airport control tower used there since the war. Conflicts with the NHLR dating; see resolved_conflicts.Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1979 and 2019
  8. 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered with the National Historic Lookout Register on November 27, 2019 (US 1389, CA 212). Nominated by Brad Eells.Source: nhlr.org
  9. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Don Landon Lookout sits on Greens Peak, on a ridge south of Eagle Lake in Lassen County, at about 7,145 feet.1

Its early history is hard to pin down because the sources do not agree. A June 1948 newspaper item said a new 30-foot steel tower would probably go up on Green's Peak between Susanville and Eagle Lake.2 The National Historic Lookout Register says a structure was erected on the peak in 1948, while a Lassen County history site says the lookout opened on September 4, 1949, and that it was in reality a remodeled naval tower.1,3 The site now covers ground that Shaffer Mountain's lookout once guarded; the register says that lookout closed in the early 1950s.1

A 1952 newspaper item says the lookout was dedicated to Donald A. Landon, a former member of the forestry service killed in action in Europe in 1944, and that work on the new tower had begun two years earlier.2 The current tower dates to 1974, when it replaced the older structure, according to the register.1 A June 1979 Lassen County Times item instead says a new tower replaced a World War II airport control tower that had been used there since the war.2 The tower plan, 880-1A, matches Fredonyer's, and the cab is essentially a 732-6A design.1

Peakbagging, citing a photo taken in August 2002, says the lookout is usually staffed during fire season.4 The register notes large fire scars near the peak.1

The register listed the lookout on November 27, 2019.1 An undated copy of a CAL FIRE lookout list also places it among the Lassen-Modoc lookouts.5

The register says the site is not easy for the public to reach, about four miles from paved road.1 A photo caption on Peakbagging shows a sign near the lookout listing visiting hours.4 The sources do not give current staffing or access rules, so check with CAL FIRE's Lassen-Modoc Unit before planning a visit.1

  1. Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak), National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/don-landon-lookout-greens-peak/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Landon - Forest Lookouts (California), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/landon.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Landon Lookout, Lassen County, Exploring Lassen County's Past, https://tipurdy.org/landon-lookout-lassen-county/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Greens Peak Lookout, California, Peakbagging, http://peakbagging.com/CALookoutPhotos/GreensPeak.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. CAL FIRE Lookouts (undated list), copy hosted at citlink.net, https://www.citlink.net/~dburnett/CAL%20FIRE%20DATA/Lookouts.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Landon Lookout (Green's Peak) Lookout - 2008
Landon Lookout (Green's Peak) Lookout - 2008 (2008)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2002
2002 (2002)Photo: Fred Johnson, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak)
Photo: Fred Johnson, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1988
1988 (1988)Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak)
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak)
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout Kay McLaughlin and her dog Komac
Lookout Kay McLaughlin and her dog KomacPhoto: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Kay McLaughlin
Kay McLaughlinPhoto: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Don Landon Lookout (Green's Peak)
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.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.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, 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. 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, status, agency, access, staffing, visiting details, 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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