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Fire lookout · Kitsap County, Washington

Green Mountain Lookout Site (Kitsap County)

Also known as Green Mountain

Kitsap County summit: wooden lookout towers from 1928, an 84-ft L-4 tower in 1942, last tower (1963) gone by 1971; a microwave tower stood there in 2014.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Last lookout tower (1963, 50 ft) removed or destroyed in 1971; a single microwave tower on the summit as of 2014; no source describes remains of the lookout

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. In Green Mountain State Forest; a forest road open to motorized traffic reaches the summit and established trails climb it

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Established trails climb to the summit; a forest road open to motorized traffic reaches the summit picnic area

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower84-foot treated timber tower with L-4 cab (1942)The design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1928
Height
84 ft (25.6 m)
Elevation
1,639 ft (500 m)
Agency
Washington Division of Forestry/DNR
Land
State land
Location
Kitsap County, Washington
Coordinates
47.56314, −122.80775
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-green-mountain-kitsap-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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 3.8 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. 1926 EventSite used as a lookout; start date unknownSource: willhiteweb.com
  2. 1928 Built50-foot wooden tower with ladder access and a tent (FFLOS date)Source: firetower.org
  3. 1929 Built50-foot tower erected (Washington Forest Fire Association 22nd annual report, quoted by WashingtonLookouts; WillhiteWeb calls it the first known structure)Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1931 RebuiltTower reconstructed and taken to 97 feet (WFFA 24th annual report, quoted by WashingtonLookouts; WillhiteWeb)Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1933 Replaced by a new structureFFLOS says a 90-foot wooden tower replaced the first tower; other sources date the rebuild to 1931Source: firetower.org
  6. 1942 Built84-foot treated timber tower with L-4 cabSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1942 EventAir Warning Service station activated March 15, 1942 (WashingtonLookouts) or March 15, 1943 (WillhiteWeb); deactivated October 16, 1943Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. 1942 StaffedWeston Niemela on duty August 11, 1942 (WillhiteWeb)Source: willhiteweb.com
  9. 1944 StaffedMarie Thorinson, lookout in 1944 and possibly until 1950 (WillhiteWeb)Source: willhiteweb.com
  10. No record between 1944 and 1961
  11. 1961 StaffedBernice Selby lookout in 1961 and 1962 (WillhiteWeb)Source: willhiteweb.com
  12. 1962 DestroyedTower found collapsed in December 1962; register says vandals released its guy wires; WillhiteWeb says a scout troop took the guy linesSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  13. 1963 Built50-foot wooden DNR tower with live-in cab built to replace the collapsed towerSources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  14. 1968 StaffedKay Loertscher Hibler lookout (WillhiteWeb)Source: willhiteweb.com
  15. 1971 DestroyedFFLOS says destroyed; WillhiteWeb says removed or destroyedSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  16. No record between 1971 and 2012
  17. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterFFLOS US 1182, WA 83, registered January 11, 2012Source: firetower.org
  18. 2014 EventWikipedia reports a single microwave tower on the mountain as of 2014Source: en.wikipedia.org
  19. 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.

Green Mountain rises about seven miles west of downtown Bremerton, inside the 6,000-acre Green Mountain State Forest on the Kitsap Peninsula.1 The Washington Division of Forestry and DNR administer the site.2

The summit was in use as a lookout by 1926, though its start date is unknown.3 A 50-foot wooden tower with ladder access and a tent for living quarters went up in 1928 or 1929; the sources differ on the year.2,4,3

In 1931 the tower was rebuilt to 97 feet.4,3 A forestry association report said the extra height brought far more territory under observation, and that the major number of fires in the Kitsap and Mason County District were first spotted from there.4,3 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register instead says a 90-foot wooden tower replaced the first one in 1933.2

In 1942 an 84-foot treated timber tower with an L-4 cab went up.2,4,3 The Air Warning Service also used the site as a wartime station. Sources differ on whether it opened in March 1942 or 1943, but both put its closing in October 1943.4,3

WillhiteWeb lists lookouts by year, including Weston Niemela on duty in August 1942, Marie Thorinson in 1944, Bernice Selby in 1961 and 1962, and Kay Loertscher Hibler in 1968.3

In December 1962 the 84-foot tower was found collapsed.2,3 The register blames vandals who released its guy wires, and another index says vandals destroyed the tower.2,4 WillhiteWeb gives a different account: a scout troop had taken the guy lines, thinking the lookout was no longer in use.3 A 50-foot wooden DNR tower replaced it in 1963.2,4,3 The register says that tower was destroyed in 1971, while WillhiteWeb says it was removed or destroyed.2,3

Today a forest road open to motorized traffic reaches the summit, and established trails also climb to it.3,1 Wikipedia describes a picnic area there, with views toward Seattle, the Cascades and the Olympics.1 As of 2014 it listed a single microwave tower on the mountain. No source I found says whether any part of the lookout remains.1

  1. Green Mountain (Kitsap County, Washington), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Mountain_(Kitsap_County,_Washington) (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Green Mountain Lookout Site (Kitsap County), Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/green-mountain-lookout-site-kitsap-county/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Green Mountain - Kitsap County Washington, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_climbing/green_mountain_kitsap/kitsap_peninsula_hiking_063.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Green Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Washington Forest Lookouts index, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/green-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Green Mountain Lookout 1960
Green Mountain Lookout 1960 (1960)Photo: Boyd Church, Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Green Mountain Lookout 1929
Green Mountain Lookout 1929 (1929)Photo: Eric Willhite collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Green Mountain Lookout 1963
Green Mountain Lookout 1963 (1963)Photo: Eric Willhite collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Green Mountain Lookout 1963
Green Mountain Lookout 1963 (1963)Photo: Eric Willhite collection, 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, 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: design, height, ownership, 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, 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.