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Fire lookout · Lemhi County, Idaho

Stormy Peak Lookout

Idaho cab on Stormy Peak, built in 1928 after a 1920 tent camp; lost in the Moose Fire in July 2022. Sources disagree on the cab's design.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Lost in the Moose Fire, reported July 25, 2022. No source we read describes what, if anything, remains.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Hike-in site on national forest land. The 2022 report describes poor trail access. No closure is reported in our sources.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Hike-in with poor trail access, per the 2022 report. The lookout burned in 2022, so there is no structure to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Two-story buildingModified L-4 cab on a log base (register); other sources describe a two-story base with an R-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1928
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,943 ft (2,421 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lemhi County, Idaho
Coordinates
45.35326, −114.21408
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-stormy-peak

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 4.3 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. 1920 EventTent camp activated on the site; the 1928 cab replaced it, per the register.Sources: nhlr.org, idaholookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1928 BuiltRegister says built on the Salmon-Challis National Forest in 1928. firelookout.com also gives 1928. Design described differently by each source.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  3. 1935 Staffed1935 newspaper item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page: Pete Burton left for the lookout.Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1935 and 1950
  5. 1950 EventHigh frequency radio installed at the lookout, per a 1950 newspaper item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page.Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1951 Staffed1951 newspaper item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page: Oscar Schmunk and his wife stationed on the peak.Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1956 Staffed1956 newspaper item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page: Al Clary manned the lookout; he and his wife planted a vegetable garden.Source: idaholookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1956 and 1977
  9. 1977 StaffedIdaho Fire Lookouts lists Susan Hunter as known staff for 1977 to 1978.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  10. No record between 1977 and 2011
  11. 2011 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register on September 24, 2011.Source: nhlr.org
  12. 2022 BurnedLost to the Moose Fire. Logbook and fire finder were removed the day before; the lookout was not wrapped or protected by sprinklers. Radio repeater lost too, per a local news report.Sources: firelookout.org, localnews8.com, idahofirelookouts.com
  13. 2022 DestroyedSource: Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com)
  14. 2022 FireMoose Fire. The register says the lookout was reported lost on July 25, 2022.Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.org
  15. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

According to the National Historic Lookout Register, a tent camp was activated on Stormy Peak in 1920.1 The register says a cab was built on the Salmon-Challis National Forest in 1928 to replace it.1 It describes a modified L-4 cab on a one-story log base.1 The Forest Lookouts page and the Idaho Fire Lookouts site describe a two-story log base with an R-4 cab instead, and firelookout.com calls it a two-story wooden cab.2,3,4

Newspaper items quoted on the Forest Lookouts page name some of its staff.2 A 1935 item says Pete Burton left for the lookout, and a 1950 item says high frequency radio had been installed there.2 A 1951 item says Oscar Schmunk and his wife were stationed on the peak.2 A 1956 item says Al Clary manned the lookout, and that he and his wife, Wilma, planted a small vegetable garden.2 The Idaho Fire Lookouts site lists Susan Hunter for 1977 to 1978.3

The register gives a registration date of September 24, 2011.1

In 2022 the Moose Fire reached the lookout.1 The register says it was reported lost on July 25, 2022.1 A 2022 chapter report says the fire ran fast along the Salmon River, and that the logbook and fire finder had been pulled out a day before the lookout was destroyed.5 The report adds that it was not wrapped or protected by sprinklers, since other higher-priority historical structures were in danger.5 A local news report says the radio repeater on the site was also lost, but that the logbook was salvaged.6

The Idaho Fire Lookouts site lists it as a hike-in, and the 2022 report says its trail access was poor and that it was rarely visited because of its remote location.3,5 Because it burned, there is no lookout left to climb.3 We found no source that describes what, if anything, remains on the site today.

  1. Stormy Peak Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/stormy-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Stormy Peak, Forest Lookouts (Idaho), https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/stormy-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stormy Peak Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/stormy-peak-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stormy Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/stormypeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. 2022 chapter report, Idaho South, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-id-south-2022.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. Moose Fire burns lookout building and radio tower, KIFI LocalNews8, https://localnews8.com/news/fire-watch/2022/07/27/moose-fire-burns-lookout-building-and-radio-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Stormy Peak Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Stormy Peak Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout interior
Lookout interiorPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1970's
1970's (1970)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Moose Fire - July 25, 2022
Moose Fire - July 25, 2022 (2022)Photo: @kit_heliops, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stormy Peak Lookout
Stormy Peak LookoutPhoto: 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.

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.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Gone
    • Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com): Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered. firelookout.com lists it, but not on its map of standing lookouts. idahofirelookouts.com's status is read from a short summary.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. 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
  4. Idaho Fire Lookouts (idahofirelookouts.com) Gave us: dates, 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
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: what it is built of, design, dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: links 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.