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Fire lookout · Plumas County, California

Red Rock Lookout

1941 Plumas NF lookout that replaced a 1933-34 station; staffed in the 1950s and 60s; a 2026 Forest Service renovation is out for quotes.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Enclosed towerCalifornia Region 5 Plan BC-301 cabin on an enclosed timber tower, per the registerThe design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Built
1941
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,595 ft (2,315 m)
Agency
US Forest Service, Plumas National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Plumas County, California
Coordinates
40.29694, −120.70956
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-red-rock

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 3.2 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. 1941 BuiltNew station to be built by a CCC spike camp (June 6, 1941 report), to be finished by June 30Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1941 Replaced by a new structureReplaced a lookout the register dates to 1933 or 1934Source: nhlr.org
  3. 1949 FireA fire set by a hunter who thought he was lost, in September 1949, was spotted by the Red Rock lookoutSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1954 StaffedWanda Hansen (also spelled Hanson) named as the lookout; the family staffed it into the early 1960sSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1954 and 2019
  6. 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered November 30, 2019Source: nhlr.org
  7. 2026 EventForest Service RFQ 127EAW26Q0028 for deferred-maintenance renovation; responses due October 21, 2026; Amendment 03 (August 27, 2026) added site-visit informationSource: fbodaily.com
  8. 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.

Red Rock Lookout stands on a peak in Plumas County, in the Plumas National Forest, at about 7,595 feet.1 The register says the present station replaced an earlier lookout dated to 1933 or 1934, and describes it as a BC-301 cabin on an enclosed timber tower.1

The new station went up in 1941.1 A June 1941 newspaper report said a spike camp would house a Civilian Conservation Corps crew to do the building, and that the job was to be rushed for completion by June 30.2

The lookout's staff appear in the local papers.2 In September 1949 a fire set by a hunter who thought he was lost was spotted by the Red Rock lookout.2 From 1954 the papers name Wanda Hansen as the lookout, sometimes spelled Hanson, and report her spending summers there with her children.2 In 1962 one item said that she "will tend the lookout."2 The newspaper items I found end there, so I could not tell when staffing stopped.

The register lists a registration date of November 30, 2019.1 In 2026 the Forest Service sought quotes to renovate the existing lookout.3 The notice describes deferred maintenance, including roofing, a lightning protection system, off-grid solar, and interior and exterior finishes.3 Responses are due October 21, 2026, and an August 27 amendment added organized site-visit information.3

I found no source saying whether the cab is open to visitors or whether anyone staffs it now. Do not climb it without checking with the Plumas National Forest first.

  1. Red Rock Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/red-rock-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Red Rock, Forest Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/red-rock.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. GAOA Red Rock Lookout Renovation, Plumas National Forest, FBO Daily (SAM.gov notice 127EAW26Q0028), https://fbodaily.com/archive/2026/10-October/03-Oct-2026/FBO-07992733.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Red Rock Lookout - 2008
Red Rock Lookout - 2008 (2008)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Red Rock Lookout
Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
9/21/1933
9/21/1933 (1933)Photo: Plumas Independent, 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, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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) 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, agency, 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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