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Fire lookout · Los Angeles County, California

Lookout Mountain (Angeles National Forest)

Also known as Lookout Mountain

Angeles NF's first lookout, on Lookout Mountain above Baldy Village (1915-1927); sources disagree on its end, and only Michelson's concrete piers are described there today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Dismantled in 1927 per the register and a 1927 newspaper; Wikipedia says it burned. The Sunset Peak tower that followed was dismantled around 1974-75. No source describes the site now beyond the Michelson piers

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. No source says whether the summit is open to visitors today

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Enclosed towerClassic California Region 5 Plan 4A: 20-foot enclosed timber tower with six window panels and a high hip roofThe design: Plan 4-A
Built of
Wood
Built
1915
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,830 ft (2,082 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Angeles National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates
34.24855, −117.67512
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-lookout-mountain-angeles-national-forest

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 3.1 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. 1915 BuiltRegister gives 1915; a June 1915 newspaper item reports a lookout station established near Mount San Antonio. Wikipedia says 1914 (see resolved_conflicts)Sources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1915 First staffedE.E. Cook to be assigned to the post to locate forest fires (June 1915 item)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1918 StaffedE.E. Cook spent eight months of each year at the station (January 1918 item); a windstorm blew in the glass of the towerSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1925 EventAlbert A. Michelson used the peak for speed-of-light measurements, 1925 to 1929; concrete piers still existSource: en.wikipedia.org
  5. 1926 EventRegister photo caption: 1926 is the last year in serviceSource: firetower.org
  6. 1927 BurnedWikipedia only; conflicts with the register, the 1927 newspaper and Angeles AdventuresSource: en.wikipedia.org
  7. 1927 MovedAngeles Adventures says the old tower was removed to Sunset Peak; the register and the 1927 item describe a new steel tower replacing it thereSources: angelesadventures.com, firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1927 RemovedDismantled per the register and the October 1927 Madera Tribune itemSources: firetower.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1927 and 2019
  10. 2019 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 2, 2019 as US 1781, CA 27; nominated by Brad EellsSource: firetower.org
  11. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The peak lies just northwest of Baldy Village and is also called Old Baldy Lookout.1 A June 1915 newspaper item reported that a lookout station had been established on a peak near Mount San Antonio.2 The register dates the tower to 1915. It describes a 20-foot enclosed timber tower with six window panels and a high hip roof, in the classic California Region 5 Plan 4A design.1 Other sources differ. Wikipedia says the first lookout in the Angeles forest was built here in 1914.3 Angeles Adventures says the forest service and a fruit exchange planned a tower for Sunset Peak in 1914, but that Lookout Mountain was chosen as the first location.4

The register notes a suggestion that the peak is the same site as the Fuego Vista Lookout, though it says the two structures appear to differ in height and window details.1 A June 1915 item said E.E. Cook was to be stationed at the post, with the sole job of spotting forest fires.2 In January 1918 the Arcadia Tribune reported that he spent eight months of each year at the station, and that a windstorm had blown in the glass of his tower.2

Accounts of its end differ. The register says severe weather reportedly damaged the lookout in 1926 or 1927, and that it was dismantled and replaced by Sunset Peak in 1927. Its photo caption calls 1926 the last year in service.1 An October 1927 Madera Tribune item said the old station on what it called Baldy Lookout peak was to be dismantled, and that a 20-foot steel tower on Sunset Peak would replace it.2 Angeles Adventures says the old tower itself was removed to Sunset Peak.4 Wikipedia says it burned in 1927.3

The Sunset Peak tower was reportedly taken apart in 1974 or 1975 and hauled to the Ontario air tanker base. The register for that site says its final disposition is unknown.5

Today, Wikipedia says the concrete piers that Albert A. Michelson used for his speed-of-light measurements from 1925 to 1929 still exist on the peak.3 We found no source describing footings or other remains of the lookout itself, and none saying whether the summit is open to visitors today.

  1. Lookout Mountain (Angeles National Forest), Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/lookout-mountain-angeles-national-forest/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Mount San Antonio (Old Baldy), Forest Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/mount-san-antonio-old-baldy.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Lookout Mountain (Los Angeles County, California), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookout_Mountain_(Los_Angeles_County,_California) (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Sunset Peak Lookout, Angeles Adventures, https://angelesadventures.com/sunset-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  5. Sunset Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://www.firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/sunset-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Lookout Mountain - Circa 1915
Lookout Mountain - Circa 1915 (1915)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1926 - The last year in service
1926 - The last year in service (1926)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Fuego Vista Lookout
Fuego Vista LookoutPhoto: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, 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.