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Fire lookout · Curry County, Oregon

Bear Wallow Lookout Site

Curry County ground site: L-5 cab built 1934 on the Siskiyou NF, L-4 cab around 1946, removed or destroyed in the 1960s; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed in the 1960s according to the register; firelookout.com says destroyed in the 1960s.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 cab (10x10-ft lookout house) built 1934; replaced by an L-4 cab around 1946The designs: L-4, L-5
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,385 ft (727 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Curry County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.10127, −124.01822
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-bear-wallow

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 3.7 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. 1934 BuiltL-5 cab built in 1934; Forest Lookouts describes a 10x10 lookout house constructed as a fire guard cabin.Sources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  2. 1940 EventMay 1940 forest plan judged the station more favorable than Mount Emily because it serves higher country.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1941 StaffedStaffed 94 days; reported to the Gold Beach station by a West Coast Telephone Company line, with radio.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1946 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab replaced the L-5 cab around 1946.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1960 RemovedCab removed or destroyed in the 1960s; the register says removed, firelookout.com says destroyed. Only the decade is given.Sources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1960 and 2010
  7. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 18, 2010; nominated by Ray Kresek.Source: firetower.org
  8. 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.

Bear Wallow is in Curry County, Oregon, on the Siskiyou National Forest, about 13 miles east-northeast of Brookings.1,2

The first cab went up in 1934.1,2 Forest Lookouts describes a 10-by-10-foot L-5 lookout house, built as a cabin for a fire guard.3 A May 1940 forest plan for guard placement favored the station over Mount Emily, because it covered higher ground.3 In 1941 the station was staffed for 94 days, with reports relayed to the Gold Beach station on a West Coast Telephone Company line. It also had radio.3

Around 1946 the L-5 cab was replaced with an L-4 cab.1,2 The register says the L-4 cab was removed in the 1960s.1 Firelookout.com says it was destroyed in the 1960s,2 and Forest Lookouts marks the site as removed.3 The register listed the site on November 18, 2010, with Ray Kresek as nominator.1

The register says the site is administered by the U.S. Forest Service.1 No source describes what, if anything, is left at the site now, or whether the public can visit, so check with the Forest Service before going.

  1. Bear Wallow Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/bear-wallow-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Bear Wallow Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/bearwallow.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Bearwallow, Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/bearwallow.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Bear Wallow Lookout 1946 - 1960's
Bear Wallow Lookout 1946 - 1960's (1946)Photo: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Bear Wallow Lookout
Bear Wallow LookoutPhoto: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Bear Wallow Lookout site 2000
Bear Wallow Lookout site 2000 (2000)Photo: Keith Johnson, Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · 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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: what it is built of, design, 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
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, staffing, 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.