FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Harney County, Oregon

Nicoll Butte Lookout Site

Harney County, OR, 40-foot wooden L-4 lookout built 1952 and removed in 1970; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed in 1970; no tower remains to climb

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
Cab on a tower40-foot wooden L-4 towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1952
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,129 ft (1,563 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Harney County, Oregon
Coordinates
43.72572, −119.75013
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-nicoll-butte

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 3.5 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. 1952 BuiltAll three pages date the 40-foot wooden tower to 1952Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1952 and 1970
  3. 1970 RemovedRegister says removed; firelookout.com says destroyed. Both give 1970Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  4. No record between 1970 and 2011
  5. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered June 24, 2011; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  6. 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.

Nicoll Butte is in Harney County, Oregon, about 37 miles west-northwest of Burns.1,2 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register lists it under the Ochoco National Forest.2

The lookout was built in 1952.2,1 The register and firelookout.com both describe a 40-foot wooden L-4 tower.2,1 A July 1952 inspection report rated the workmanship on the new 40-foot wood tower as excellent.3 It also flagged two split diagonal braces in the lower panel for replacement, and one missing bolt.3

The register added the site on June 24, 2011, on the nomination of Ray Kresek.2

Both the register and firelookout.com date the end to 1970.2,1 The register says the tower was removed, and firelookout.com says destroyed.2,1 The Oregon Lookouts page lists it as removed without a date.3

We found no source that describes what, if anything, remains at the site now, or whether it is open to visitors. The tower is listed as removed, so there is no tower to climb.2,1,3

  1. Nicoll Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/nicollbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Nicoll Butte Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/nicoll-butte-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Nicoll Butte, Oregon Forest Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/nicoll-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Nicoll Butte Lookout 1963
Nicoll Butte Lookout 1963 (1963)Photo: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Nicoll Butte Lookout
Nicoll Butte LookoutPhoto: Howard Verschoor collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Nicoll Butte Lookout site 2002
Nicoll Butte Lookout site 2002 (2002)Photo: Howard Verschoor, 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, what it is built of, 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: 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
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.