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Fire lookout · Yakima County, Washington

Blue Slide Lookout Site

Yakima County lookout site: 1942 cabin, 1946 L-4 tower, 1960 40-ft tower; removed or toppled 1971-72 (sources differ); footings on site per photos.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed or toppled in 1971 or 1972; sources differ on the year. Willhite's photo captions show footings and an emergency cabin, with no dates given.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Reached by a rough gravel road or a hike (Willhite); no closure found in these pages

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Willhite: high clearance 4WD needed or it is a hike

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerD-6 cupola cabin (1942); 30-foot treated timber L-4 tower (1946); 40-foot treated timber tower with R-6 flat cab (1960)The designs: L-4, R-6, D-6
Built of
Wood
Built
1942
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
6,785 ft (2,068 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Yakima County, Washington
Coordinates
46.55772, −121.19701
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-blue-slide

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 3.7 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. 1942 BuiltSite developed with a D-6 cupola cabin trucked from the Darland LookoutSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1946 Replaced by a new structure30-foot treated timber tower with L-4 cab replaced the cabinSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1960 Replaced by a new structure40-foot treated timber tower with R-6 flat cabSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1971 RemovedRegister says removed in 1971; firelookout.com says promptly destroyed in 1971Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1972 DestroyedOregonian item dated April 4, 1972, as quoted by Willhite and Weebly: station toppled over a cliff after its guy wires were cutSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1972 and 2012
  7. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered July 19, 2012 as US 1358, WA 258; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  8. 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.

Blue Slide is a former lookout site in Yakima County, Washington, at 6,785 feet (2,068 m).1,2 The site got its start in 1942, when a D-6 cupola cabin was trucked up from the Darland Lookout.1,3

In 1946 a 30-foot treated timber tower with an L-4 cab replaced the cabin.1,3 In 1960 a 40-foot treated timber tower with an R-6 flat cab replaced that one.1,3

I found no source that names who staffed Blue Slide or what fires it watched.1,2,3,4

The sources disagree about how the tower ended.1,2,3,4 The Register says it was removed in 1971.1 firelookout.com says it was destroyed that year, though its heading gives the dates as 1942 to 1946.2 Willhite and a Weebly page both quote an April 4, 1972 Oregonian item, which says the station toppled over a cliff after its guy wires were cut, a $5,000 loss.3,4

The forest is disputed as well.1,3,4 The Register and the Weebly page place the site in Wenatchee National Forest, while the 1972 quote names Snoqualmie National Forest.1,4,3

Willhite's photo captions show several sets of footings and an emergency cabin, with no dates given.3

Getting there is rough.3 Willhite's route leaves the Ahtanum Road and follows a gravel road that grows rockier as it climbs. He says a high-clearance 4WD is needed, or the trip is a hike.3 The Forest Service lists a Blue Slide Trail that starts at the Grey Creek dispersed camping area and ends at the Divide Ridge West Trail. The part I read does not mention the lookout.5

I found no closure notice for the site in any of these pages.1,2,3,4,5

  1. Blue Slide Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/blue-slide-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Blue Slide Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/blueslide.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Blue Slide Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/blue_slide_lookout/ahtanum_state_forest_240.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Blue Slide, Forest Lookouts (Washington), washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/blue-slide.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Blue Slide Trail #4W621, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/recreation/trails/blue-slide-trail (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Blue Slide Lookout Site
Photo: 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: 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. WillhiteWeb.com: Washington Fire Lookouts Gave us: links WillhiteWeb.com · No licence stated; names and page links only (the site's photos and text are not reproduced). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

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