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Fire lookout · San Bernardino County, California

Little Mountain Lookout Site

San Bernardino County's 1926 Little Mountain lookout; replaced in 1938. The register says only concrete footers remain. Ownership and access are unclear.

Ruins: Only footings or remains are left. The register says only the concrete footers remain.

Visit & stay

Ruins: footings or remains only. There is no structure 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
Ruins
Type
Cab on a tower7-by-7-foot wood cab on a 10-foot wood tower (1926); later a 20-foot steel tower with L4 cab (1938)The design: L-4
Built of
Steel
Built
1926
Height
Unknown
Elevation
1,890 ft (576 m)
Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Land
Unknown
Location
San Bernardino County, California
Coordinates
34.15929, −117.31529
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-little-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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.0 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. 1926 BuiltCounty lookout established in 1926; 7-by-7-foot wood cab on a 10-foot wood towerSources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1927 EventHeliograph announced in August 1927 to signal the federal lookout on Keller PeakSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1928 AlteredResidence cabin added under the towerSources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1928 StaffedKeeper M.R. Jackson had lived in a tent houseSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1938 Replaced by a new structureNew 20-foot steel tower with L4 cab replaced the original structureSource: firetower.org
  6. 1939 StaffedState forestry department lookout station; Milton R. Jackson in chargeSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1940 FireBrush fire, apparently started by hunters, threatened the station; crews saved itSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1948 FireBrush fire started by incendiary material from an army demolition squad; a cleared patch saved the stationSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1948 StaffedState Forester P.S. Black at the lookout stationSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  10. No record between 1948 and 2018
  11. 2018 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered on the Former Fire Lookout Sites registerSource: firetower.org
  12. TodayRuinsOnly footings or remains are 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.

San Bernardino County built its Little Mountain lookout in 1926, on high ground north of the city.1,2 County Forester Roy M. Tuttle meant it to watch the San Bernardino mountains, and his patrols covered only land outside the national forest reserve.2 The Muscupiabe Land & Water Company deeded the site to the county in April 1926.2 The first station was a 7-by-7-foot wood cab on a 10-foot wood tower.1 A telephone line of more than a mile was built to connect the lookout with the city and the county forester's office.2 In August 1927 a newspaper reported that a heliograph would be installed there to flash signals to the federal lookout on Keller Peak.2

In 1928 the county added a residence cabin under the tower.1,2 Until then, the keeper, M.R. Jackson, had lived in a tent house.2 In 1938 a new 20-foot steel tower with an L4 cab replaced the original structure.1 By 1939 the state forestry department ran the station, with Milton R. Jackson in charge.2

In September 1940 a brush fire, apparently started by hunters, swept to the summit and threatened the station.2 State Ranger Russell Z. Smith directed the crews that saved it.2 In September 1948 an army demolition squad, meaning to blow up munitions harmlessly, started a fire when bits of incendiaries landed in dry brush on the mountain.2 State Forester P.S. Black, who was in his lookout station, called for help, and a cleared patch of ground saved the station.2

The register gives no date for the lookout's removal, and says only concrete footers are left.1 It also describes the site as state land, which does not match the 1926 county deed.1,2

No source we read describes the site after that. None says whether the public may visit, so anyone curious should first check who owns the land.

  1. Little Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/little-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Little Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/little-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

1926 photo
1926 photo (1926)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Little Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Little Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
With residence quarters added - 1928
With residence quarters added - 1928 (1928)Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Little Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Little Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Cal Fire Museum, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
New construction - 1938
New construction - 1938 (1938)Photo: 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, 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) 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, 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.