FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Douglas County, Oregon

Harness Mountain Lookout

Also known as Harness Mt

Douglas County, OR: first tower 1949, storm-damaged 1962, replacement cab 1963, removed 2017; sources disagree on who took it down.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed in 2017. Sources differ on who took it down (the Oregon Department of Forestry or the Weyerhaeuser Company) and on whether it was removed or destroyed.

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 sources disagree
Type
Cab on a towerFirst tower of 40 or 44 feet with an L-4 cab (sources differ); 1963 replacement with a 14 by 14 foot flat-top ODF cab on a timber tower of 50 to 55 feetThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,239 ft (987 m)
Agency
Oregon Department of Forestry, with the Douglas Forest Protective Association as cooperator
Land
Unknown
Location
Douglas County, Oregon
Coordinates
43.52560, −123.09050
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-harness-mountain

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 3.6 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. 1949 BuiltFirst tower on the site; the register and firelookout.com say 40 feet, the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry says 44 feetSources: nhlr.org, firetower.org, firelookout.com
  2. 1950 EventA February 1950 News-Review item, quoted by Kemnow, still called for completion before fire seasonSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1955 StaffedMinta King employed as summer lookout, per a June 1955 News-Review item quoted by KemnowSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1962 DestroyedLost in the Columbus Day storm per the register, the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry and firelookout.com; Kemnow says it was severely damagedSources: nhlr.org, firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1963 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  6. 1963 Replaced by a new structure14 by 14 foot ODF flat-top cab on a timber tower; the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry gives a 55-foot tower with an Amort cabSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1963 and 2001
  8. 2001 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 1, 2001Source: nhlr.org
  9. No record between 2001 and 2017
  10. 2017 RemovedFFLA report says the Oregon Department of Forestry removed it; Kemnow says Weyerhaeuser removed it citing safety; the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry says destroyedSources: firelookout.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firetower.org
  11. 2019 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 14, 2019 in the Former Fire Lookout Sites registerSource: firetower.org
  12. 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.

Harness Mountain lies in Douglas County, Oregon, east of Sutherlin.1,2 The Oregon Department of Forestry administered the lookout, with the Douglas Forest Protective Association as its cooperator.1

The first tower went up in 1949, though the sources differ on its height. The register says 40 feet, the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry says 44, and firelookout.com says 40.1,3,4 Kemnow's site, quoting Douglas Forest Protective Association reports, places the purchase of the tower and house, and the pouring of their footings, in 1949.2 A February 1950 News-Review item still called for finishing the lookout before fire season, so the completion date is unclear.2

A June 1955 News-Review item, quoted on Kemnow's site, says Minta King of Klamath Falls would work the lookout that summer.2 Firelookout.com says it was staffed in summer into the late 2000s.4

The sources clash over the Columbus Day storm of October 1962. The register, the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry and firelookout.com say the storm destroyed the first tower.1,3,4 Kemnow's site says the storm severely damaged it.2

A replacement went up in 1963, and the sources describe it differently. The register describes a 14-by-14-foot flat-top cab on a 50-foot timber tower, and firelookout.com gives a 50-foot timber tower with an ODF cab.1,4 Kemnow's site gives 51 feet 9 inches and a 14-foot-3-inch cab, and the Former Fire Lookout Sites entry gives a 55-foot tower with an Amort cab.2,3

The tower came down in 2017.3,4 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's 2017 chapter report says the Oregon Department of Forestry removed one lookout, Harness Mt.5 Kemnow's site credits the Weyerhaeuser Company with the April 2017 removal and gives safety as the reason.2 The Former Fire Lookout Sites entry classes the 2017 event as a destruction.3 The sources do not agree on who took it down, or on whether it was removed or destroyed.

The Former Fire Lookout Sites register lists the site as Harness Mountain Lookout Site, registered November 14, 2019.3 None of the sources we read describes what, if anything, remains on the summit, or whether visitors may go up there today.

  1. Harness Mountain Lookout (US 392), National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/harness-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Harness Mountain, Forest Lookouts, western US (Ron Kemnow), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/harness-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Harness Mountain Lookout Site (US 1817), Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/harness-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Harness Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, Rex's Fire Lookout Page (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/or/harnessmtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Oregon chapter report, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-or-2017.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Harness Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Harness Mountain Lookout 1996
Harness Mountain Lookout 1996 (1996)Photo: Dominic Luebbers, Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Harness Mountain Lookout 2007
Harness Mountain Lookout 2007 (2007)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Harness Mountain Lookout 1949 - 1962
Harness Mountain Lookout 1949 - 1962 (1949)Photo: Ron Kemnow 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.

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 whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing
    • FFLOS: Gone
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered. firelookout.com lists it, but not on its map of standing lookouts.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1963
    • FFLOS: 1949

    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, what it is built of, 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
  2. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: 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
  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, 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.