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Fire lookout · King County, Washington

Maloney Ridge Lookout Site

King County, WA lookout: an L-4 cab from Galena Mountain (1941), an AWS cabin (1942) and a second L-4 cab (1953); removed or destroyed in 1969, with foundations reported on site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab removed or destroyed in 1969; a WillhiteWeb visit (undated in the source) found the rocky perch and foundations still on the site

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. Drive-up gravel road with a winter gate closure; the summit area has communication towers and fencing

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
No cab stands on the site, so there is nothing to climb. The summit is a communications area with fencing; check any posted rules before going.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab (1941), AWS cabin (1942), L-4 cab again (1953)The design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Also served as
Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
Built
1941
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,364 ft (1,025 m)
Agency
Washington Division of Forestry/DNR
Land
Federal land
Location
King County, Washington
Coordinates
47.69518, −121.33798
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-maloney-ridge

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 4.4 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. 1941 BuiltL-4 cab built in 1931 at Galena Mountain and moved here in 1941 (Galena page, Forest Lookouts, Firelookout.com). Register says an L-4 cab was built in 1941.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, firetower.org
  2. 1942 Replaced by a new structureAWS cabin replaced the L-4 cabSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  3. 1942 StaffedAircraft Warning Service staffed the station during WWIISource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1950 MovedWillhiteWeb dates the Galena cab's arrival to 1950, which conflicts with the 1941 move in other sourcesSource: willhiteweb.com
  5. 1953 Replaced by a new structureL-4 cab replaced the AWS cabinSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  6. No record between 1953 and 1969
  7. 1969 RemovedRegister says removed; Forest Lookouts says removed by burning; Firelookout.com and WillhiteWeb say destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1969 and 2010
  9. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 19, 2010 as FFLOS US 636, nominated by Irene PotterSource: 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Maloney Ridge lookout stood in King County, Washington, about a mile south of Skykomish, at roughly 3,364 feet.1,2 Its L-4 cab came from Galena Mountain, where it was built in 1931.3 In 1941 the cab was taken apart, carried up to this ridge and reassembled.4

WillhiteWeb dates the move to 1950 instead, and says the site was established that year when the Galena cab arrived.5

During World War II the Aircraft Warning Service manned the station.4,1 An AWS cabin replaced the L-4 cab in 1942,1,2 and another L-4 cab went up in 1953.1,2

The cab was removed in 1969.1 Forest Lookouts says it was removed by burning, while Firelookout.com and WillhiteWeb call it destroyed.4,2,5

A WillhiteWeb visit found the rocky perch and the foundations of the lookout still on the site.5 Communication towers also stand on the ridge, and the same account says they draw visitors' attention away from exploring the area.5 The account also says the lookout stood nearer what is now called Sobieski Mountain, and that its spot sits some distance from where the map places the Maloney Ridge name.5

The road is good gravel, but a winter gate closes it; WillhiteWeb's gate note is dated November 7, 2014.5

  1. Maloney Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/maloney-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Maloney Ridge Fire Lookout Cabin, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/maloneyridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Galena Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://www.firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/galena-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Maloney Ridge, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/maloney-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Maloney Ridge & Maloney Mountain Lookouts, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/alpine_lakes_wilderness/maloney_ridge/lookout_195.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Maloney Ridge Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Maloney Ridge Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
View of Stevens Pass from site
View of Stevens Pass from sitePhoto: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (N)
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (N) (1936)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (SE)
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (SE) (1936)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (SW)
Maloney Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-5-1936 (SW) (1936)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, 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, wartime use, 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, staffing, 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.