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Fire lookout · Ferry County, Washington

Keller Butte Lookout

Camp lookout from 1932, CCC-built wooden tower in 1935, present 67-ft steel live-in tower from 1964; on tribal land, permit needed.

Tribal land: permission required

This site is on tribal land. Ask the tribe for permission before visiting, and follow its rules. On Colville Indian Reservation land. Non-tribal visitors need a Colville recreation permit (trail guide: $80 a year). The 2021 fire burned Keller Butte Road north of the lookout and may affect access from that side.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Tribal land: permission required. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Easiest route is from the south shore of Buffalo Lake along BIA 21, then over to Keller Butte Road. Clay roads turn slick and impassable when wet.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower67-foot steel live-in towerThe design: L-4
Built of
Steel
Built
1935
Height
67 ft (20.4 m)
Elevation
4,800 ft (1,463 m)
Agency
Colville Indian Reservation
Land
Tribal land
Location
Ferry County, Washington
Coordinates
48.06155, −118.79563
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-keller-butte

View from the cab

What you see from the 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.

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. 1932 EventCamp lookout established at Keller Butte; a July 1932 newspaper item reported a man to be sent to the new stationSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1933 EventFirst CCC camp for the district opened with 75 men; one crew was to build a road from the summit to the new lookout towerSources: nhlr.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1935 BuiltCCC built an 80-foot three-legged wooden tower with a 7x7 cab and an L-4 ground cabin for living quarters. An August 1935 newspaper said 90 feet.Sources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1943 StaffedTeachers worked as summer fire lookouts; Miss Josephine Volger stationed on Keller ButteSources: nhlr.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1943 and 1960
  6. 1960 Condition assessmentInspection found the 1935 tower and shelter unsound and unsafe; proposed a 65-foot steel tower with quarters on topSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1964 BuiltPresent 67-foot steel live-in tower built; staffed every summerSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com, firelookout.com
  8. No record between 1964 and 2021
  9. 2021 FireChuweah Creek fire, started by lightning July 12, 2021; burned across Keller Butte Road north of the lookout; contained at more than 36,000 acres; lookout survived unharmedSources: nhlr.org, trailchick.com
  10. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterDate registered per NHLR detail page: April 12, 2022Source: NHLR register entry
  11. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Keller Butte sits on Colville Indian Reservation land in Ferry County, Washington.1,2 The register gives its elevation as 4,800 feet, the trail guide gives 4,811 feet, and a fire lookout page gives 4,831 feet.1,3,2

Keller Butte first hosted a camp lookout in 1932.1,3 A July 1932 newspaper item said a man would soon be sent to the new station.4 In 1933 the first Civilian Conservation Corps camp for the district opened with 75 men, and one crew was to build a road from the summit to the new lookout tower.1,4

In 1935 the CCC built an 80-foot, three-legged wooden tower with a 7-by-7 cab and an L-4 ground cabin for living quarters.1,3,4 An August 1935 newspaper had called it a 90-foot tower, but the register and a 1960 inspection both give 80 feet.1,4

In 1943 the Colville Examiner reported that many teachers were working as summer fire lookouts, and Miss Josephine Volger, a teacher at the Leadpoint school, was stationed on Keller Butte.1,4 A November 1960 inspection found the old tower and its shelter unsound and unsafe, and it proposed a 65-foot steel tower with living space at the top.4 The current lookout, a 67-foot steel live-in tower, went up in 1964 and is staffed each summer.1,3,2

A plaque at the summit honors Ramona Peone, who spent more than 40 years as a fire lookout, including at Johnny George.1,3 In 2021 the Chuweah Creek fire started from lightning on July 12.1 The fire ran over the north shore of Buffalo Lake and across the Keller Butte Road north of the lookout, and it was eventually contained at more than 36,000 acres.1 The lookout survived unharmed, the trail guide says.3

Today the site is on tribal land, and non-tribal visitors need a Colville recreation permit, which the trail guide gives as $80 a year.3 The guide suggests reaching Keller from the south shore of Buffalo Lake along BIA 21, then over to Keller Butte Road, and it warns that wet weather can leave the clay roads impassable.3 The 2021 fire may also affect access from the north side.3

  1. Keller Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/keller-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Keller Butte Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/keller.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Keller Butte, TrailChick, https://www.trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/keller-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Keller Butte - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/keller-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Keller Butte Lookout - 2019
Keller Butte Lookout - 2019 (2019)Photo: Christine Estrada, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Keller Butte Lookout - Three leg tower - 1960
Keller Butte Lookout - Three leg tower - 1960 (1960)Photo: National Archive, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
L-4 ground cabin - 1960
L-4 ground cabin - 1960 (1960)Photo: National Archive, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Keller Butte in 1993
Keller Butte in 1993 (1993)Photo: Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Keller Butte Lookout
Photo: TrailChick Washington lookout guide (trailchick.com) · 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. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, access, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.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: design, staffing, photos, 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: height 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. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: photos TrailChick (trailchick.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, coordinates, elevation, lookout type, years built). The guide's text is not reproduced; its card photos are listed with credit to TrailChick, for the project's photo mirroring. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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.