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Fire lookout · Modoc County, California

Fox Mountain Lookout Site

Modoc NF lookout built 1936 on a Plan BC-301 cabin; register lists removal date as unknown, firelookout.org says gone; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Register lists removal date as unknown; firelookout.org lists the site as gone; no removal date found in sources read

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
Type
Two-story buildingCalifornia Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on an enclosed timber tower (register: 10-foot tower; 1948 survey sheet: 15-foot tower)The design: BC-301
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1936
Height
15 ft (4.6 m)
Elevation
6,397 ft (1,950 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Modoc National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Modoc County, California
Coordinates
41.26985, −121.04108 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-fox-mountain

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 3.6 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. 1936 BuiltConstructed in 1936 as a Plan BC-301 cabin on an enclosed timber tower (register)Source: firetower.org
  2. 1938 StaffedLewis Page and wife were at the lookout that summer, per an Oct 20, 1938 Weekly Adin Argus itemSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1939 StaffedHenry K. Keene named fire guard at the lookout (Weekly Adin Argus item, Aug 3, 1939)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1944 EventNovember 1944 work-project budget: lookout observation unit with living quarters underneath; garage, storage, water storage, windcharger, latrine; cistern in placeSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1946 FireLookout credited with 22 first discoveries during 1942 through 1946Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1947 Condition assessmentJune 13, 1947 inspection report: generally in good condition; shutter bolts did not work satisfactorilySource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1947 StaffedBen Bath of Adin to be stationed at the lookout (Weekly Adin Argus item, June 19, 1947)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1947 and 2020
  9. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered February 2, 2020Source: firetower.org
  10. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. When it came down is not recorded.

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.

Fox Mountain sits in the Modoc National Forest in Modoc County, California.1 The register says the lookout was built in 1936 as a California Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on a 10-foot enclosed timber tower.1 A 1948 Coast and Geodetic Survey station sheet describes a 15-foot tower instead, so the two sources disagree on height.1,2

A November 1944 work-project budget describes a lookout observation unit with living quarters underneath.2 It also lists a one-car garage, storage, water storage, a windcharger, a latrine, and a cistern that was then in place.2

The staffing record is thin. The Weekly Adin Argus reported in October 1938 that Lewis Page and his wife had been at the lookout that summer.2 Henry K. Keene is named as fire guard there in 1939.2 In June 1947 the same paper said Ben Bath of Adin would be stationed on Fox Mountain.2

From 1942 through 1946 the lookout made 22 first discoveries, according to the Forest Lookouts history page.2 A June 1947 inspection found the cabin generally in good condition.2 It also found that none of the shutter bolts worked well.2

The register gives no removal date and lists it as unknown.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's California list marks the site as gone.3

The register page carries a 2008 photo of the site, but its caption says nothing about what the photo shows.1 A 1948 survey sheet said good Forest Service roads ran from the town of Adin to the station.2 We found no source describing what stands at the site now or whether visitors can reach it.

  1. Fox Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/fox-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Fox Mountain, Forest Lookouts (California Lookouts), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/fox-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. California Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/ca/ca-co/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Fox Mountain Lookout
Fox Mountain LookoutPhoto: Modoc National Forest historic photo collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Fox Mountain Lookout Site - 2008
Fox Mountain Lookout Site - 2008 (2008)Photo: Ron Kemnow, 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 the location by 560 m.

    • FFLOS: 41.26985, −121.04108
    • FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites): 41.26628, −121.03636

    The map uses the position from FFLOS.

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. 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
  4. 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.