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Fire lookout · Lewis County, Washington

Kiona Peak Lookout Site

Gone Kiona Peak lookout site in Lewis County, WA: D-6 cupola built 1917, L-4 cab 1935, abandoned 1963 for a Watch Mountain tower; cables and old boards remain.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Abandoned in 1963 when a new tower went up on Watch Mountain. Willhite describes cables and old boards still on the cliff.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Willhite says the most direct routes have gates and no-trespassing signs, and describes a logging-road approach of more than 10 miles one way that he did not take. Firetower.org lists the Department of Natural Resources as administrator.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Willhite calls the approach long and difficult, and says the logging-road route he recommends is over 10 miles one way.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabD-6 cupola (1917), replaced by an L-4 cab (1935)The designs: L-4, D-6
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1917
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,849 ft (1,478 m)
Agency
Department of Natural Resources
Land
Federal land
Location
Lewis County, Washington
Coordinates
46.56672, −122.01705
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-kiona-peak

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 4.0 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. 1917 BuiltD-6 cupola, the first lookout established by the Division of Forestry in Washington; built by B.P. Moore and son Henry of RandleSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1917 First staffedA Weeks Law patrolman acted as watchman for the 1917 seasonSource: willhiteweb.com
  3. 1918 StaffedV.W. Bigger, a newspaper man from TexasSource: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1919 Condition assessmentWashington Forest Fire Association said haze often obscured the view and that the lookout had been of little useSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1922 EventLookout abandoned for the season after a four-year trialSource: willhiteweb.com
  6. 1926 FireLookout P.K. Herrington spotted a July fire southeast of the Glenoma schoolhouse that burned hundreds of acresSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. 1926 StaffedP.K. Herrington was the lookout (also in 1927)Source: willhiteweb.com
  8. 1930 StaffedElcana DeRossett had a bad fall over a cliff and returned to workSource: willhiteweb.com
  9. 1935 Replaced by a new structureCupola replaced by an L-4 cabSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1942 EventUsed by the AWS from March 13, 1942 to April 1, 1944; a sleeping quarters and woodshed were addedSource: willhiteweb.com
  11. No record between 1942 and 1963
  12. 1963 AbandonedSite abandoned when a new tower was built on Watch MountainSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  13. No record between 1963 and 2020
  14. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 3, 2020, nominated by Tammy McLeodSource: firetower.org
  15. 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.

Kiona Peak sits about 12 miles east of Morton in Lewis County, Washington.1 The Department of Natural Resources administers the site.2

The state's Division of Forestry set up its first lookout here in 1917.1,3 Willhite says the state board of forest commissioners agreed in April 1917 to work with the federal government, drawing on reports of success at lookouts in Idaho and Oregon.3 Because the peak was so sharp, part of its top had to be blasted away to make room for a 10 by 12 station.3 B.P. Moore and his son Henry of Randle built it.3 The first design was a D-6 cupola, and an L-4 cab replaced it in 1935.2,3

A Weeks Law patrolman served as watchman in 1917.3 In 1918 the lookout was V.W. Bigger, a newspaper man from Texas.3 P.K. Herrington was the lookout in 1926 and 1927.3 In July 1926 he spotted a fire southeast of the Glenoma schoolhouse that burned over hundreds of acres.3 In 1930 Elcana DeRossett had a bad fall over a cliff, but he went back to work.3

In 1919 the Washington Forest Fire Association said haze, smoke or fog often obscured the view from its lookouts, and that Kiona had been of little use.3 In 1922 the lookout was abandoned for the season.3

From March 13, 1942 to April 1, 1944 the site was used by the AWS, and a sleeping quarters and woodshed were added.3 Firelookout.com's heading reads "R.I.P. 1917-1935," but its own text puts the end in 1963.1 In 1963 the site was abandoned when a new tower went up on Watch Mountain.2,1,3

Willhite reports that much of the cabling still hangs on both sides of the cliff, and that a number of old boards and pieces lie below.3

Willhite calls the approach long and hard. He says the most direct routes have many gates and no-trespassing signs. The route he recommends runs over logging roads for more than 10 miles one way, and he says he did not take it himself.3 We found no source that describes a public route to the summit, so check access before going.

  1. Kiona Peak Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/kionapeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Kiona Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/kiona-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Kiona Peak Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/kiona_peak/fire_lookout_301.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Kiona Peak Lookout
Kiona Peak LookoutPhoto: Rex Kamstra collection - Fire Lookout Museum, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (NW)
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (NW) (1929)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (NE)
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (NE) (1929)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (S)
Kiona Peak Lookout panoramic 1929 (S) (1929)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via 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, 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: what it is built of, design, 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. 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

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