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Fire lookout · Boise County, Idaho

Thorn Creek Butte Lookout

Also known as Thorn Creek Lookout

Boise NF lookout site first set up in 1908 as Bald Mtn.; current L-4 cab built 1933, staffed as needed and available for emergencies; registered 2020.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Sources describe it as staffed as needed and available for emergencies. None describes public entry into the cab.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Idaho Fire Lookouts lists the site as drive-up. The sources give no trail or road route; check with the Boise National Forest before going.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Two-story buildingL-4The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,550 ft (2,301 m)
Agency
US Forest Service - Boise National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Boise County, Idaho
Coordinates
43.74476, −115.75169 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-thorn-creek-butte

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 3.8 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. 1908 BuiltLookout site named Bald Mtn. established; first structure a wooden ground-mounted cab (firelookout.com only).Source: firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1908 and 1933
  3. 1933 BuiltCurrent structure: L-4 cab on a tower base. NHLR and firelookout.com give a 10-foot base; Idaho Fire Lookouts gives an 8-foot log crib.Sources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1933 and 1960
  5. 1960 AlteredL-4 modified and set on a concrete basement, in the 1960s (decade only; no exact year given).Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  6. 1974 First staffedLinda Bellmer Bass listed as relief staff, 1974-1982, per a former fire lookout registry book (as cited by Idaho Fire Lookouts). Earliest staffing given in the sources.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  7. 1982 Last staffedEnd of the listed relief-staff period (Idaho Fire Lookouts). Not a documented end of all staffing.Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  8. No record between 1982 and 2000
  9. 2000 EventSet to emergency service, in the 2000s (decade only; no exact year given).Source: idahofirelookouts.com
  10. No record between 2000 and 2020
  11. 2020 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 28, 2020 as NHLR US 1431, ID 123.Source: nhlr.org
  12. 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.

Firelookout.com says the site was first set up in 1908 as a lookout called Bald Mtn., with a wooden cab on the ground as its first structure.1 The cab that stands now dates to 1933, when an L-4 cab went up on a tower base.2,3,1,4 The register describes a standard L-4 cab on an enclosed 10-foot tower.2 Idaho Fire Lookouts describes an L-4 cab on an 8-foot log crib for that year.3 The sources disagree on the base height: the register and firelookout.com say 10 feet, while Idaho Fire Lookouts says 8.2,3,1

The 1960s brought a change. Idaho Fire Lookouts says the L-4 was altered and placed on a concrete basement in that decade.3 The same site says the lookout was moved to emergency service in the 2000s.3

The staffing record is thin. Idaho Fire Lookouts lists Linda Bellmer Bass as relief staff from 1974 to 1982, citing a former fire lookout registry book.3 Firelookout.com says the lookout is staffed on an as-needed basis.1 The register says it can be used in emergencies.2

The register added Thorn Creek Butte on September 28, 2020, as US 1431, ID 123, and lists the Boise National Forest as its administrator.2

Idaho Fire Lookouts describes the site as drive-up and staffed as needed.3 The sources do not describe public entry into the cab or give a route to it, so check with the Boise National Forest before you go.2,3 I found no rental listing for this cab.

  1. Thorn Creek Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/id/thorncreek.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Thorn Creek Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/thorn-creek-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Thorn Creek Butte Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/southern-idaho/thorn-creek-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Thorn Creek Butte, Forest Lookouts (Idaho), https://idaholookouts.weebly.com/thorn-creek-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Thorn Creek Butte Lookout - 2010
Thorn Creek Butte Lookout - 2010 (2010)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2000
2000 (2000)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Thorn Creek Butte L.O.
Thorn Creek Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Thorn Creek Butte L.O.
Thorn Creek Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Thorn Creek Butte L.O.
Thorn Creek Butte L.OPhoto: the U.S Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Thorn Creek Butte in 2000
Thorn Creek Butte in 2000 (2000)Photo: the U.S Forest Service, the Dave Bula collection and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Thorn Creek Butte Lookout
Thorn Creek Butte 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 the location by 630 m.

    • NHLR: 43.74476, −115.75169
    • FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites): 43.74462, −115.75955

    The map uses the position from NHLR.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1933
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1908

    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, 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: what it is built of, design, photos, 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: 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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 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

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