FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Madera County, California

Red Top Lookout

Also known as Redtop Fire Lookout

Madera County lookout, construction dated to 1928 (the register gives 1934); retired in 1985; on private land; sources disagree on whether it was torn down in 2010.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. On private land. Fire-lookouts.org says there is no public access; the register says public access is supposed to be restricted.

Status unknown: We do not know yet whether it still stands. Sources disagree. The register says it was still standing in 2018; fire-lookouts.org says the owner tore it down in 2010. The site is private land.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Private land; do not visit without the owner's permission.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1985)

Facts

Status
Status unknown sources disagree
Type
Enclosed towerTimber tower with a matching BC-301 cab, two stories per the register; fire-lookouts.org describes three storiesThe design: BC-301
Built of
Wood
Height
Unknown
Elevation
1,842 ft (561 m)
Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire MMU)
Land
State land
Location
Madera County, California
Coordinates
37.12823, −119.77669
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-red-top

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.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1928 BuiltConstruction set for June 1928 (newspaper reports, June 16-21) with donated lumber, glass for four sides, and volunteer labor under State Forest Ranger J.E. Wofford; the register gives 1934 and fire-lookouts.org gives about 1938Sources: californialookouts.weebly.com, nhlr.org, fire-lookouts.org
  2. 1929 First staffedCounty and State agree to maintain a lookout on Red Top Mountain; State covers costs above $1,500Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1933 StaffedClarence Reed completes the 1933 season (dated November 1, 1933); he is named as the county's lookout in 1934Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1934 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  5. 1942 EventState forestry division prepares a new road to the station, to make it more accessible to automobiles (November 14, 1942 report)Source: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1942 and 1985
  7. 1985 AbandonedEnded use as a lookout; tower turned over to the property ownerSource: fire-lookouts.org
  8. No record between 1985 and 2010
  9. 2010 RemovedFire-lookouts.org says the owner tore it down in 2010; the register says it was still standing in 2018Sources: fire-lookouts.org, nhlr.org
  10. 2019 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered December 23, 2019Source: nhlr.org
  11. TodayStatus unknownWe do not know whether it still stands.

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 Top is a rounded hill in the lower foothills of eastern Madera County, in oak woodland.1 In June 1928 the county set about building a lookout station on the summit.2 Local property owners offered to do the building work under the supervision of State Forest Ranger J.E. Wofford.2 The Madera Sugar Pine company had contributed the lumber, and the Dean Bros. planning mill was to supply glass for all four sides.2 The site was on the Billy Brown ranch, and Mr. Brown had promised a deed to the land.2

The dates disagree. The register gives 1934 as the build year, but its own photo caption reads "Construction 1928."1 Fire-lookouts.org says the station was constructed "in or about 1938."3 The 1928 newspaper reports describe the building work, so 1928 is the best-supported year.2

In May 1929 Madera County and the State agreed to keep a lookout on Red Top Mountain, with the State covering costs above $1,500.2 Clarence Reed worked the lookout in the early 1930s.2 A 1933 paper said he had finished his season there, and in 1934 it called him the county's lookout on Red Top.2 That August a rattlesnake got into the living quarters, and it took him some three hours to find it.2 In November 1942 the state forestry division was preparing to build a road to the station, to make it more accessible to automobiles.2

The register describes the tower as a CCC-era, two-story timber tower with a matching BC-301 cab.1 Fire-lookouts.org describes a three-story building, with the living quarters in its lower stories.3 The register also says the station was severely vandalized.1

Fire-lookouts.org says the lookout ended its use in 1985, when the tower was turned over to the property owner.3 The same page says the owner tore it down in 2010.3 The register says it was scheduled for dismantling in 2010 but "is still standing as of 2018."1 I could not settle which account is right.

The site is on private land.3 Fire-lookouts.org says there is no public access, and the register says public access is supposed to be restricted.1,3 Do not go up to it without the owner's permission. The register lists its registration date as December 23, 2019.1

  1. Red Top Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/red-top-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Red Top, Forest Lookouts, https://californialookouts.weebly.com/red-top.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Red Top Fire Lookout, fire-lookouts.org, http://www.fire-lookouts.org/cali/redtop_mtn/index.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Red Top Lookout - 1990
Red Top Lookout - 1990 (1990)Photo: www.fire-lookouts.org, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Red Top Lookout
Photo: www.fire-lookouts.org, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Construction 1928
Construction 1928 (1928)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Redtop Fire Lookout
Redtop Fire LookoutPhoto: fire-lookouts.org (Rich Camp) · Reuse allowed with credit · source

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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 whether it still stands.

    • Firefinder research: Status unknown
    • FFLA: Standing
    • NHLR: Standing
    • California Fire Lookouts of the Sierra National Forest and Other Areas (fire-lookouts.org): Gone

    Research (2026-10-08) gives unknown where the source records give standing. The page shows the researched status; please tell us if it is wrong.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1934
    • California Fire Lookouts of the Sierra National Forest and Other Areas (fire-lookouts.org): 1938

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, 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. California Fire Lookouts of the Sierra National Forest and Other Areas (fire-lookouts.org) Gave us: ownership, photos fire-lookouts.org · Public information per the site's disclaimer, credit requested. Facts + a short description reused under that permission -- see extra.license per record. · 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, status, agency, access, staffing, visiting details, 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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