FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Grant County, Oregon

Mount Ireland Lookout

Mount Ireland: 1916 cabin on Bald Mountain, renamed 1917; blasted off in 1957 for a CL-100 cab; staffed each summer and reached by a 3.5-mile hike.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Staffed in summer. The public trail reaches it on foot from a Road 100 trailhead. The sources read do not say whether the cab is open to visitors.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
From Sumpter, follow the Elkhorn Scenic Byway west 11.7 miles, turn right onto gravel Road 7370, then turn right on Road 100 for 0.2 miles to the trailhead on the left, where a berm blocks an old road. Hike of 3.5 miles with about 2,300 ft of elevation gain (2023 visit page).
Staffing
Staffed during fire season

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabCL-100 13x13 all-steel ground cab (built 1957) on the summit; replaced a 1916 cabin with a rooftop fire-finder and a later cupolaThe design: CL-100
Built of
Steel
Height
Unknown
Elevation
8,197 ft (2,498 m)
Agency
US Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (Whitman District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Grant County, Oregon
Coordinates
44.83689, −118.32051
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-mount-ireland

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.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1915 EventSite first used as a campSource: firelookout.com
  2. 1916 BuiltCabin with a rooftop observation platform and a fire-finder; described as a 12x12 house with plate-glass windowsSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1916 First staffedStation put in charge of Orlin L. Ireland (July 1916 item)Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1917 FireFire near Downie Lake discovered from the lookout in August; every available man in Sumpter sent to fight itSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1917 EventBald Mountain renamed Ireland Mountain, honoring Henry Ireland, former Whitman National Forest supervisor who died in 1916Sources: firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1928 AlteredCupola added to the lookout house (Forest Lookouts); firelookout.com says only 'later'Sources: oregonlookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.com
  7. 1937 EventLightning struck close to the station and knocked down lookout Norman McDonald; he was not injuredSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1945 StaffedFred Palmer lookout 1945-1949Source: firelookout.com
  9. 1952 StaffedMr. and Mrs. Fred Palmer of Baker named as lookouts for the summerSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1957 Replaced by a new structureOld cupola cabin blasted off the summit; new all-steel CL-100 13x13 cab built in its placeSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1958 StaffedGlen Macy listed as lookout on Mt. IrelandSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 1970 StaffedMt. Ireland and Bald Mt. lookouts manned 24 hours a day until fire danger decreasesSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. No record between 1970 and 1992
  14. 1992 StaffedBill Rounsville lookout 1992-1999Source: firelookout.com
  15. 2000 StaffedDeanna Fox and Dan Wilcock lookouts 2000-2001Source: firelookout.com
  16. No record between 2000 and 2020
  17. 2020 EventLongtime lookout unable to return to the lookoutSource: lagrandeobserver.com
  18. 2021 EventLookout enlisted for 2021 backed out in late May; Whitman District fire management officer expected to fill the post in time after a June 4 Facebook postSource: lagrandeobserver.com
  19. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 5, 2022 as US 1338, OR 153Source: nhlr.org
  20. 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.

Mount Ireland is a high point on the divide between Baker and Grant counties, in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register gives its elevation as 8,197 feet, but a 2021 news report and a 2023 visit page both put it at 8,346 feet.1,3,4

The peak was called Bald Mountain at first. Firelookout.com says the site was first used as a camp in 1915, and a cabin with a rooftop platform followed in 1916.5 A September 1916 newspaper described a durable 12-by-12 house with large plate-glass windows all the way around and a fire-finder on the roof, reached by ladder.2 In 1917 the peak was renamed for Henry Ireland, a former Whitman National Forest supervisor who had died the year before.5,2

A cupola was added in 1928, according to the Forest Lookouts page.2 In 1957 the old cabin was blasted off the summit and replaced with an all-steel cab, a CL-100 13x13 model.1,5 Sources differ on what kind of structure it is. The NHLR calls it a ground cab, while a 2023 visit page labels it a steel tower.1,4

Orlin L. Ireland was put in charge of the station in 1916.2 In August 1917 a fire near Downie Lake was discovered from the lookout, and Sumpter sent out every man it could spare to fight it.2 In 1937 a lightning bolt struck near the station and knocked the lookout, Norman McDonald, off his feet; he was unhurt.2 Fred Palmer was lookout from 1945 to 1949, and Glen Macy was on the peak in 1958.5,2 In September 1970 the lookouts on Mount Ireland and Bald Mountain were manned around the clock until fire danger eased.2

The lookout still stands and is staffed in summer.1,5,4 A 2023 visitor found the lookout staffed in summer but no one there, arriving on the attendant's day off.4 Staffing has not always been steady. In 2020 the longtime lookout could not return, and the person enlisted for 2021 backed out in late May. The fire management officer for the Whitman District expected to fill the post in time, after the Oregon Fire Lookouts group posted about it on Facebook.3

The lookout is reached on foot. From Sumpter, the route follows the Elkhorn Scenic Byway and gravel Road 7370 to a trailhead on Road 100, then a 3.5-mile hike with about 2,300 feet of climb.4 Granite, the closest community, lies roughly eight miles from that trailhead.3 Because it is staffed, treat the cab as off-limits unless the forest says otherwise.1

  1. Mount Ireland Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/mount-ireland-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Mount Ireland - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/mount-ireland.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Forest Service officials have had to scramble to find a fire lookout to work this summer on Mount Ireland, La Grande Observer (Baker City Herald), https://lagrandeobserver.com/2021/06/15/forest-service-officials-have-had-to-scramble-to-find-a-fire-lookout-to-work-this-summer-on-mount-ireland/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Mt. Ireland – Every Lookout in Oregon, cherylhill.net, https://cherylhill.net/firelookouts/2023/08/30/mt-ireland/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Mt. Ireland Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/ireland.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Mount Ireland Lookout - 2018
Mount Ireland Lookout - 2018 (2018)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Mt. Ireland in 1924
Mt. Ireland in 1924 (1924)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, via firelookout.com · source
Mt. Ireland in 1957
Mt. Ireland in 1957 (1957)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, via firelookout.com · source
Mt. Ireland in 1957
Mt. Ireland in 1957 (1957)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, via firelookout.com · source
Mt. Ireland in 1980
Mt. Ireland in 1980 (1980)Photo: the Fire Lookout Museum, via firelookout.com · source

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Where sources disagree

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  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: 1916
    • Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill): 1957

    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, 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: what it is built of, staffing, dates, 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 LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) 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. Every Lookout in Oregon (Cheryl Hill) Gave us: register numbers, 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
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, 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

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