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Fire lookout · Curry County, Oregon

Packsaddle Mountain Lookout Site (Curry County)

Also known as Packsaddle Mountain

Siskiyou NF lookout in Curry County: a 1930s gable-roofed L-4 cab, staffed into the 1940s, gone by 1964. No source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab abandoned by the 1940s and gone by 1964 per the register; firelookout.com gives 1933 to 1964

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
Ground-level cabGable-roofed L-4 cab, built about 1933 (register and firelookout.com); the 1939 history calls the 1930 cabin R1 typeThe designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1913
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,569 ft (783 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Curry County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.02758, −124.02256 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-packsaddle-mountain-curry-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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.9 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. 1913 BuiltRegister dates a frame shake cabin on a 15-ft platform tower; the 1914 Forest Lookouts accounts show a tent in use insteadSources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1914 StaffedAfter Louis Yarbrough failed to come on as lookout, Ralph Keizer was securedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1915 BuiltLookout house of shake type with ceiled interior, per the 1939 forest history quoted on the Forest Lookouts pageSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1917 FireOctober 1917 narrow escape: sparks set the beds on fire several timesSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1930 BuiltNew R1-type cabin per the 1939 forest history; the 1930 Siskiyou Bulletin says the new house was about completedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1933 BuiltGable-roofed L-4 cab built about 1933 per the register and firelookout.com; conflicts with the 1930 dateSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  7. 1933 StaffedPaul Weller was the lookout in July and August 1933Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1941 StaffedSeason of 84 days, reporting to the Gold Beach station by telephoneSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1941 and 1964
  10. 1964 RemovedGone by 1964 per the register; firelookout.com gives 1964 as the end dateSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  11. No record between 1964 and 2011
  12. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered March 26, 2011Source: firetower.org
  13. 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.

Packsaddle Mountain is a former lookout site in the Siskiyou National Forest, about 13 miles east-southeast of Brookings in Curry County, Oregon.1,2 The site sits at 2,569 feet.1

The register says the lookout cab replaced a 1913 frame shake cabin on a 15-foot platform tower.1 The Forest Lookouts page quotes 1914 and 1915 accounts that do not match this.3 In 1914 the lookout was working from a tent, and in 1915 a ranger reported plans for a lookout house.3 A 1939 forest history says that house was of the shake type, with a ceiled interior.3 The sources do not agree on the first structure, so this story does not settle it.

The next cabin, dated to 1930 by the 1939 history, was an R1-type lookout cabin.3 The register and firelookout.com instead date an L-4 cab with a gable roof to about 1933.1,2

Lookouts appear in the records for several years.3 In August 1914, after Louis Yarbrough failed to come on as lookout, a ranger secured Ralph Keizer to take the post.3 Paul Weller was the lookout in July and August 1933.3 The 1941 season ran 84 days, with reports sent to the Gold Beach station by telephone.3

One incident stands out. In October 1917 a group that included Ranger W.J. Jones had a narrow escape at the lookout.3 Their bedding caught fire several times when sparks came through the shakes.3

According to the register, the cab was left unused by the 1940s and was gone by 1964.1 firelookout.com gives its dates as 1933 to 1964.2 The Forest Lookouts page lists the site as removed, without a date.3

No source describes what, if anything, remains at the site today, including whether any footings survive.1,2,3 None says whether the site is open to visitors.1,2,3 The register names the Forest Service as administrator.1 Check with the Siskiyou National Forest before planning a trip.

  1. Packsaddle Mountain Lookout Site (Curry County), Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/packsaddle-mountain-lookout-site-curry-county/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Packsaddle Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/packsaddle64.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Packsaddle Mountain - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts Oregon, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/packsaddle-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Packsaddle Mountain Lookout Site (Curry County)
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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 the location by 1.3 km (0.8 mi).

    • FFLOS: 42.02758, −124.02256
    • FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites): 42.03067, −124.00786

    The map uses the position from FFLOS.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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: what it is built of, design, 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, 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.