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Fire lookout · Siskiyou County, California

Hungry Creek Peak Lookout Site

Also known as Hungry Creek

Hungry Creek Peak lookout (Klamath NF): 1937 cabin on a 10-ft tower, removed before 1986; a foundation remains. Built year conflicts (1937 vs 1938).

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Structure removed before 1986; a foundation remains at the site per the register

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. On Klamath National Forest land per the register; no route, closure or current access is described in the sources read

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Enclosed towerCalifornia Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on a 10 foot timber towerThe design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Built
1937
Height
10 ft (3.0 m)
Elevation
4,741 ft (1,445 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Klamath National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Siskiyou County, California
Coordinates
41.99862, −122.72298
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-hungry-creek-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. 1932 EventA 1932 diary entry refers to the old Hungry Creek lookout, so a lookout predates the current oneSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 StaffedDuring a heavy lightning storm, a CCC enrollee from Hilt was sent up as emergency lookout (July 7, 1934 diary)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1937 BuiltRegister date for the present cabin on a 10 foot timber tower; the site title was accepted February 13, 1937Sources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1938 RebuiltForest Lookouts history says the new lookout was constructed by CCC Camp F176 in 1938 (register says 1937)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1938 and 1954
  6. 1954 StaffedClara Williams, widow of Ranger John Williams, went to work as lookout on June 1, 1954 and served 17 yearsSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1954 and 2020
  8. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 16, 2020 as FFLOS US 2024, CA 141; nominated by Brad EellsSource: firetower.org
  9. 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.

Hungry Creek Peak sits at about 1,445 metres in the Klamath National Forest of Siskiyou County, roughly 650 yards from the Oregon border.1 The register calls it the farthest north lookout site in California.1 A 1932 diary entry mentions an older Hungry Creek lookout, so an earlier lookout of that name came before the present cabin.2

The register dates the present lookout to 1937.1 The design was a California Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin, raised on a 10-foot timber tower.1 The Klamath National Forest's chronological history, quoted on the Forest Lookouts site, says the land was deeded for the lookout site, with title accepted in February 1937, and that a Civilian Conservation Corps camp built a new lookout in 1938.2 The two accounts disagree on the year.

In July 1934, during a heavy lightning storm, a CCC enrollee from Hilt was sent up as an emergency lookout.2 Clara Williams, whose husband, Ranger John Williams, had died in 1940 while saving a young girl from drowning, took the post in June 1954 and served there for 17 years.2

The register puts the removal before 1986.1 The foundation is still on the site, and a 2009 photo in the register shows it.1

Today, the site sits on Klamath National Forest land.1 The sources read describe no route to it and say nothing about whether it is open to visitors.1,2

  1. Hungry Creek Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/hungry-creek-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Hungry Creek, Forest Lookouts (californialookouts.weebly.com), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/hungry-creek.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Hungry Creek Lookout
Hungry Creek LookoutPhoto: Ron Kemnow Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1950's
1950's (1950)Photo: Siskiyou County Historical Society Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hungry Creek Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Nancy Hood Collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Foundation remains - 2009
Foundation remains - 2009 (2009)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.

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, access, 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.