FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Idaho County, Idaho

Sawyer Ridge

Nez Perce National Forest L-4 tower built 1949, moved in 1987 to the Dreher property as the Eyeful Tower; the original site has no tower.

Permission required

You need permission from the tribe or landowner before visiting. On private property beside the Dreher home; the NHLR record says tours are available by pre-arrangement

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at Eyeful – Dreher

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. The original Sawyer Ridge tower is gone; the tower was bought in 1987 and rebuilt beside the Dreher home, where it is called the Eyeful Tower

Visit & stay

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

Access

Permission required. See the warning at the top of this page.

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

Facts

Status
Moved
Type
Cab on a tower41-foot timber tower with a 14 x 14 foot L-4 hip-roof cab and catwalkThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1949
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
Nez Perce National Forest (original site)
Land
Unknown
Location
Idaho County, Idaho
Coordinates
45.68417, −115.95504
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 10 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-sawyer-ridge

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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.5 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. 1949 BuiltErected on Sawyer Ridge in the Nez Perce National Forest as a 41-foot timber tower with an L-4 cabSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  2. No record between 1949 and 1972
  3. 1972 StaffedDavid Emmons listed; transferred at the end of the season (Idaho Fire Lookouts)Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  4. No record between 1972 and 1987
  5. 1987 MovedDeclared surplus by the Forest Service; bought by Bruce and Nancy Dreher and moved to their homeSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered February 24, 1996 as US 163, ID 13Source: nhlr.org
  7. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to Eyeful – Dreher.Source: FFLA
  8. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Sawyer Ridge tower stood in the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho County, about 25 miles northeast of Riggins.1 The Forest Service put up a 41-foot timber tower with a 14-by-14-foot L-4 hip-roof cab and catwalk in 1949.2,1,3

Idaho Fire Lookouts lists David Emmons as a staffer in 1972, with a note that he was transferred at the end of the season.3

The Forest Service declared the tower surplus in 1987.2 Bruce and Nancy Dreher bought it and set it up at their home near the Salmon River and the Slate Creek community.2,1 The National Historic Lookout Register says the tower was reconstructed and faithfully restored. Firelookout.com says Bruce re-erected only the top 28 feet, so the sources disagree on how much was rebuilt.2,1 The Register listed the tower on February 24, 1996, as US 163, ID 13.2

Nancy Dreher now uses the cab as an art studio.1 The Register calls the structure the Eyeful Tower.2 It sits on private property, so visitors should arrange tours in advance.2,3 The firelookout.org list marks the original Sawyer Ridge site as having no tower.4

  1. Sawyer Ridge Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/sawyerridge.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Eyeful Tower Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, https://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/eyeful-tower-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Sawyer Ridge, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/selway-region/sawyer-ridge/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Idaho fire lookout list, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/id (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Sawyer Ridge
Sawyer RidgePhoto: idahofirelookouts.com · 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com) Gave us: photos, links idahofirelookouts.com · No licence stated; facts only (coordinates, status/built/destroyed year parsed from each entry's short excerpt). Thumbnail photos mirrored with credit per the project's photo policy. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.