FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Flathead County, Montana

Thoma Lookout

Also known as Toma Fire Lookout

Built 1930 as an L-4 gable-roof groundhouse in the Flathead National Forest; little used until restored and restaffed from 2010.

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
Ground-level cabGable-roof L-4 groundhouse cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1930
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,104 ft (2,165 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Flathead County, Montana
Coordinates
48.96215, −114.54807
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-mt-thoma

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 4.1 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. 1930 BuiltL-4 gable-roof groundhouse cabSources: nhlr.org, flatheadbeacon.com, flatheadbeacon.com
  2. No record between 1930 and 1963
  3. 1963 StaffedChuck Manning served as the lookout in the summer of 1963Source: flatheadbeacon.com
  4. 1973 Last staffedThe 2014 article says 2010 was the first summer staffed since 1973Source: flatheadbeacon.com
  5. No record between 1973 and 2009
  6. 2009 EventForest Service decided to begin staffing the lookout againSource: flatheadbeacon.com
  7. 2009 RestoredWork was done to ready the lookout for staffing in 2010 after it had been vacant for over 30 years.Source: firelookout.org
  8. 2010 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 28, 2010 as US 891, MT 52Source: nhlr.org
  9. 2010 RestoredNHLR says just restored at registration; firelookout.com says a restoration effort began in 2010Sources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com
  10. 2010 StaffedLeif Haugen transferred to Thoma; first summer staffed since 1973Source: flatheadbeacon.com
  11. 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.

Thoma Lookout sits on a high point of about 7,100 feet in the Flathead National Forest, a few miles shy of the Canadian border.1,2 The white, wooden-shingled cab is an early gable-roofed L-4 design, built in 1930.1,2

A 2014 Flathead Beacon feature counts it as one of just four remaining examples of its design, and says it holds a place on the National Register of Historic Places.3 The lookout's entry in the National Historic Lookout Register is dated September 28, 2010.1

Its use lapsed for a long stretch. The 2014 article says summer 2010 was the first season staffed since 1973. Before the Forest Service decided in 2009 to staff it again, the article says, the cab had only received periodic maintenance.3 Firelookout.com says the cab saw emergency use in the 1970s.4

Chuck Manning, who now chairs the Northwest Montana Lookout Association, manned Thoma during the summer of 1963.2 Leif Haugen transferred to Thoma in 2010 and helped refurbish the tower; the 2014 article says he had to meet historic standards in building the cabinetry, a bed and the fire-finder's tower.3

Restoration is dated two ways. Firelookout.com dates the start of the work to 2010, while NHLR describes the lookout as just restored at registration.4,1

In 2026 Haugen, described as Northwest Montana's longest-serving fire lookout, was still at his post at Thoma.2 The cab is staffed in summer.4 None of the sources read gives public visiting rules, so anyone planning a trip should check with the Flathead National Forest first.

  1. Thoma Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/mt/thoma-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. A Century of Sentries, Flathead Beacon, https://flatheadbeacon.com/2026/03/27/a-century-of-sentries/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. On the Lookout, Flathead Beacon, https://flatheadbeacon.com/2014/03/18/on-the-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Thoma Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, http://www.firelookout.com/mt/thoma.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Thoma Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
July 2010
July 2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout interior July 2010
Lookout interior July 2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Thoma in 1979
Thoma in 1979 (1979)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Thoma in 2010
Thoma in 2010 (2010)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, via firelookout.com · source
Thoma in 2010
Thoma in 2010 (2010)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum and Luke Channer, via firelookout.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. 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: 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: 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
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: what it is built of, 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, 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.