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Fire lookout · Okanogan County, Washington

Defiance Point Lookout Site

Okanogan NF lookout site at 7,403 ft: a camp in 1930 or 1931, a 12x12 cabin in 1932, removed in 1954; no source describes what remains today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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. No source we read describes how to reach the site

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cab12 by 12 foot frame cabin, 1932
Built of
Wood
Built
1932
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,403 ft (2,256 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates
48.87467, −120.60289
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-defiance-point

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 4.2 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. 1930 First staffedWillhiteWeb says there was a camp in 1930 and that Keith Johnson was the lookout from 1930 to 1932Source: willhiteweb.com
  2. 1931 EventThe register dates the camp to 1931. WillhiteWeb says two men hauled lumber to the site that year for a lookout structureSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1932 Built12 by 12 foot frame cabinSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1932 Last staffedKeith Johnson was the lookout through 1932, per WillhiteWebSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1934 EventPanoramic images taken September 24, 1934, just after a large snowstormSource: willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1934 and 1954
  7. 1954 RemovedCabin removed per FFLOS and WillhiteWeb; FireLookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1954 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 11, 2012, nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  10. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Defiance Point lookout site sits in Okanogan County, in the Okanogan National Forest, at 7,403 feet.1,2,3 WillhiteWeb calls it Point Defiance.3 Its elevation matches the register, so the two names appear to mean the same site.1,3

Accounts differ on the first camp. The register says a camp was set up in 1931, while WillhiteWeb places a camp there in 1930.1,3 WillhiteWeb also names Keith Johnson as the lookout for each year from 1930 through 1932, and says that in 1931 two men, Dudley Helms and George Miller, carried lumber to the site for a lookout structure.3

The frame cabin measured 12 by 12 feet and went up in 1932.1,2,3 WillhiteWeb adds that a short-wave radio was given to the site.3 WillhiteWeb also records a set of panoramic images made there on September 24, 1934, shortly after a big snowstorm.3

The cabin was removed in 1954.1,3 FireLookout.com says it was destroyed that year instead.2

No source we read describes what remains at the site today, or how a visitor would reach it.

  1. Defiance Point Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/defiance-point-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Defiance Point Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, http://www.firelookout.com/wa/defiancepoint.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Point Defiance Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, https://willhiteweb.com/fire_lookouts/point_defiance_lookout/pasayten_wilderness_113.htm (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Defiance Point Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, agency, access, 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.