Fire lookout · Curry County, Oregon
Grizzly Mountain Lookout
Curry County lookout first built in 1936, wrecked by wind in late 1941, replaced by a 14x14 cab in 1952 that was later converted to a radio building.
- Standing
- Access unknown
- Verified
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
- Type
- Ground-level cab14 x 14 Amort-style ground lookout house built 1952 (current); the 1936 original was a 10-ft L-4 towerThe design: L-4
- Built of
- WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
- Also served as
- Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
- Built
- 1936
- Height
- Unknown
- Elevation
- 2,332 ft (711 m)
- Agency
- Coos Forest Protection Association (NHLR); firelookout.com calls the cab an Oregon Department of Forestry cab
- Land
- Unknown
- Location
- Curry County, Oregon
- Coordinates
- 42.39742, −124.36544
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-or-grizzly-mountain
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 3.4 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
- 1936 BuiltOriginal 10-ft L-4 tower; firelookout.com gives 1936, and a June 1937 paper says it was built the previous fall; NHLR gives 1937Sources: firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, nhlr.org
- 1937 StaffedM.S. Brainard of Gold Beach assigned to the station; recalled after a few days when rain eased fire dangerSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
- 1938 EventLookout reported a small boat adrift in heavy seas; a Coast Guard rescue followedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
- 1941 DestroyedHigh winds destroyed the station in December 1941 per a Dec 17, 1941 paper and a Feb 1942 article; NHLR says 1942 storm; a March 1942 article says 'last January'Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, nhlr.org
- 1942 EventSite served as an Aircraft Warning Service post; activated March 9, 1942 (Roseburg Filter Center)Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, nhlr.org
- 1942 Replaced by a new structureReplacement 12x12 ground cabin costing $250Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, nhlr.org
- 1942 StaffedEmmett Freeman stationed there while the lookout was used as an air-raid warning point (February 1942 account)Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
- 1952 BuiltCurrent 14x14 Amort-style lookout house; 1952 ODF annual report gives $810 labor and $878.33 materials; one mile of new roadSources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
- No record between 1952 and 1980
- 1980 Altered10x10 concrete block building added for radio and microwave equipmentSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
- No record between 1980 and 2022
- 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered June 23, 2022 as US 1619, OR 142Source: nhlr.org
- 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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
Grizzly Mountain Lookout is in Curry County, a few miles from Gold Beach. The sources disagree on the distance: a 1937 newspaper says about five miles back from town, a 1942 article says about four miles east, and firelookout.com says two miles southeast.1,2
The first station went up in 1936 on a ten-foot tower.1,2 A June 1937 newspaper called it new, said its view was among the finest in Curry County, and noted that it was built the previous fall.1 The NHLR dates the original lookout to 1937 instead.3
In 1937 M.S. Brainard of Gold Beach was assigned to the station, but he was recalled after a few days when rain eased the fire danger.1 In 1938 the lookout spotted a small boat adrift in heavy seas, and a Coast Guard rescue followed.1 Staffing records are thin after that, although a 1941 paper reports that a man named Parker McNeil was sent there that season.1
The tower did not last.1 A December 1941 windstorm wrecked the station, and a February 1942 article places the storm in late December.1 The NHLR puts the storm in 1942, and a March 1942 article calls it a windstorm "last January," so the sources do not agree on the date.3,1 A 12-by-12 ground cabin that cost $250 replaced it in 1942.1 During the Second World War the site was an Aircraft Warning Service post, activated on March 9, 1942.3,1
A 14-by-14 lookout house was built in 1952, and one mile of new road made the site reachable by car.3,1 The 1952 Oregon Department of Forestry annual report lists $810 for labor and $878.33 for materials.1 In 1980 a 10-by-10 concrete block building was added for radio and microwave equipment.1 Firelookout.com says the 1952 cab was later turned into an enclosed radio building.2
The site joined the National Historic Lookout Register on June 23, 2022, as US 1619, OR 142.3 The NHLR lists the Coos Forest Protection Association as administrator, while firelookout.com calls the cab an Oregon Department of Forestry cab.3,2 None of the pages read say whether the site is open to visitors.3,2 Because the cab is now a radio building, anyone interested should check with the agency before going, and should not try to climb or enter the structure.2
- Grizzly Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/grizzly-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Grizzly Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/grizzlymtn63.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Grizzly Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/grizzly-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
Photos
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Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, wartime use, register numbers, agency, 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) (opens another site) 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
- Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill) (opens another site) Gave us: links Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill, cherylhill.net) · No licence stated; facts only (name, agency, elevation, year built, design and height, status word, links). Posts' narrative and photos are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
- 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
- NHLR register entry US 1619 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- FFLA Oregon lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Grizzly Mountain Lookout - Forest Lookouts Page (opens another site)
- Grizzly Mtn. on firelookout.com (Rex Kamstra) (opens another site)
- Grizzly Mountain on Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill) (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.