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Fire lookout · Klamath County, Oregon

Buck Peak Lookout Site (Klamath County)

Also known as Buck Peak

Klamath County, OR lookout site: camp 1915, 21-ft L-4A tower 1932, disposed of by burning in Nov 1968. Sources disagree on height and fate; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. WillhiteWeb says disposed of by burning in November 1968; the register says removed in 1968; Firelookout.com says destroyed in 1968

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?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
WillhiteWeb header lists 'Hiking Distance: Drive-up'; no source describes current road, gate or permit conditions

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Type unknownwooden L-4 tower with an L-4A cab, 14 by 14 feet, hip roofThe design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1932
Height
21 ft (6.4 m)
Elevation
6,081 ft (1,854 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Klamath County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.27931, −122.12129
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-buck-peak-klamath-county

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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.0 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. 1915 EventA camp was started on the siteSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  2. No record between 1915 and 1932
  3. 1932 Built21-foot L-4A tower built by the Crater National Forest; the register dates the tower to 1932Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1933 EventPanorama photos taken at 24 feet above the groundSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1940 StaffedOne early storm had the lookout alone reporting 124 lightning strikesSource: willhiteweb.com
  6. 1941 StaffedOperated under the Rogue River National Forest, Lake of the Woods district; operated 110 daysSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. 1943 FireLightning struck the tower; the fire it started spread over about an acre and a half before controlSource: willhiteweb.com
  8. 1943 StaffedFrancis Bush was the lookoutSource: willhiteweb.com
  9. 1950 StaffedJack and Lorraine Holmes and their daughter Sharon, 1950 to 1953Source: willhiteweb.com
  10. 1960 StaffedLaird Millburn, 19, was the lookoutSource: willhiteweb.com
  11. 1962 AlteredTower legs and bracing replacedSource: willhiteweb.com
  12. 1968 BurnedDisposed of by burning during November, by R.D.M.A. personnelSource: willhiteweb.com
  13. No record between 1968 and 2011
  14. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered May 17, 2011; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.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.

Buck Peak is a lookout site in Klamath County, Oregon, at 6,081 feet (1,853 meters).1 The register places it in the Winema National Forest.1

A camp was started on the site in 1915.1 The register dates a wooden L-4 tower there to 1932.1 WillhiteWeb describes a 21-foot tower built by the Crater National Forest, with an L-4A cab measuring 14 by 14 feet under a hip roof.2 The register describes a 10-foot tower, which conflicts with that 21-foot height.1,2

The Department of the Interior approved the lookout without objections, in a letter dated September 3, 1932.3 On September 27, 1932, the Medford Mail Tribune reported that a lookout house was being built in the Dead Indian district.3

In 1933, a panorama was shot from 24 feet above ground.2 In 1940, during one early storm, the lookout alone logged 124 lightning strikes.2 In 1941 the lookout was controlled by the Rogue River National Forest's Lake of the Woods district, and it operated 110 days.2

Francis Bush staffed the lookout in 1943. One Sunday, lightning struck the tower while he was eating dinner, and the fire it started spread over about an acre and a half before crews controlled it.2

Jack and Lorraine Holmes staffed the lookout in the early 1950s. In 1960, Laird Millburn, then 19, staffed it.2 The tower got new legs and bracing in 1962.2

WillhiteWeb says the lookout was disposed of by burning in November 1968.2 The register says it was removed in 1968, and Firelookout.com says it was destroyed that year.1,4

WillhiteWeb lists the site as drive-up, but no source we found describes what remains there today or whether the road to it is open.2

  1. Buck Peak Lookout Site (Klamath County), Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/buck-peak-lookout-site-klamath-county/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Buck Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/oregon_lookouts/buck_peak/tower_012.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Buck Peak, Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/buck-peak1.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Buck Peak Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/buckpeak88.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Buck Peak Lookout
Buck Peak LookoutPhoto: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Buck Peak Lookout
Buck Peak LookoutPhoto: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Buck Peak Lookout 1942
Buck Peak Lookout 1942 (1942)Photo: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, status, 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. 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height, 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
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, 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.