FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Ferry County, Washington

Copper Butte Lookout Site

1921 cupola cabin on Copper Butte, Ferry County, WA; removed or destroyed in the 1950s. A 2024 hike write-up says only a rusted bed frame and debris remain.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cupola removed or destroyed in the 1950s; a 2024 write-up says only a rusted bed frame and scattered debris remain

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. Open hiking access on Colville National Forest land by the Old Stagecoach Trail and Kettle Crest trail, per WTA and Hike of the Week. Check for current trail notices.

Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
About 3 miles along the route to the summit, a 6-mile round trip per Hike of the Week. No tower remains to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabCupola cabin built 1921; a 1925 USGS note describes a 12-by-12 house topped by a 6-foot cupola on the summitThe design: Cupola house
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1921
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,135 ft (2,175 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Colville National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Ferry County, Washington
Coordinates
48.70250, −118.46565
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-copper-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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 4.3 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. 1921 BuiltCupola cabin built on the summit; construction reported in July 1921Source: willhiteweb.com
  2. 1923 StaffedRay Ward listed as lookout personnelSource: firelookout.com
  3. 1925 Condition assessmentUSGS describes a 12-by-12 house on the summit with a 6-foot cupolaSource: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1929 StaffedHarold White listed as lookout personnelSource: firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1929 and 1945
  6. 1945 StaffedLee Roy Kinnan listed as lookout personnel; latest name in the sourcesSource: firelookout.com
  7. 1950 RemovedCupola removed in the 1950s (exact year not given). The Fire Lookout page says destroyed in that decadeSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  8. No record between 1950 and 1994
  9. 1994 FireFire burned nearly 11,000 acres of forest surrounding Copper ButteSource: willhiteweb.com
  10. No record between 1994 and 2012
  11. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: November 11, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  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.

Copper Butte is the highest point in Ferry County and in the Kettle Range, within the Colville National Forest.1,2 In July 1921 the forest supervisor reported that construction had started on a lookout on the summit, and the plan called for pack horses to carry the material up the mountain.2 A cupola cabin was built there that year.2 A telephone line was also under construction to the summit, so that fires could be reported quickly to the district rangers.2

A 1925 U.S. Geological Survey note described a 12-by-12 house on the summit, topped by a cupola about six feet square.2

The Fire Lookout page names three lookouts: Ray Ward in 1923, Harold White in 1929 and Lee Roy Kinnan in 1945.3 A 1994 fire consumed close to 11,000 acres of woodland around the butte.2

The sources disagree about how the cabin ended. The Former Fire Lookout Sites register and WillhiteWeb say the cupola was removed in the 1950s, while the Fire Lookout page says the cabin was destroyed in that decade.1,2,3

No structure is left: a 2024 hike write-up describes only a rusted bed frame and scattered debris.4 The Washington Trails Association describes the summit as a former fire lookout site on the Kettle Crest trail, reached from the Old Stagecoach Trail.5 The hike write-up puts the summit three miles along the route, for a six-mile round trip.4 Today the summit is a hike to a viewpoint, not a tower to climb.5

  1. Copper Butte Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/copper-butte-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Copper Butte Fire Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/copper_butte/lookout_085.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Copper Butte Fire Lookout Cabin, Fire Lookout, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/copperbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Copper Butte via Old Stage Trail, Hike of the Week, https://www.hikeoftheweek.com/2024/06/20/copperbutte/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Old Stagecoach Trail to Copper Butte, Washington Trails Association, https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/old-stagecoach-trail-to-copper-butte (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Copper Butte 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, 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.