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Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

McCue Ridge Lookout Site

Chelan County lookout: L-4 cab built 1931 on a 40-ft timber tower, abandoned in the 1950s; gone, with footings reported on a 2015 visit.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. No tower remains; cement footings and other remnants were reported on a 2015 visit

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.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
About a mile from Scottish Lakes High Camp; an easy hike or snowshoe. The old spur trail is difficult to find.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cab on a 40-foot timber towerThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1931
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
5,136 ft (1,566 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Wenatchee National Forest)
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
47.71973, −120.82710
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-mccue-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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.3 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. 1931 BuiltL-4 cab built in 1931 (register, Firelookout.com, Willhite Web); Willhite Web describes a 40 foot towerSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1934 EventPhoto survey panoramas taken October 3, 1934 (Willhite Web)Source: willhiteweb.com
  3. No record between 1934 and 1950
  4. 1950 AbandonedCab abandoned in the 1950s; the year shown stands for the decade onlySource: firetower.org
  5. No record between 1950 and 2014
  6. 2014 FireChiwaukum Creek Fire burned over the ridge after the lookout was goneSource: willhiteweb.com
  7. 2015 Condition assessmentVisit found two footings just above the snow (Willhite Web)Source: willhiteweb.com
  8. 2020 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 13, 2020; nominated by Tammy McLeodSource: firetower.org
  9. 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 Former Fire Lookout Sites register lists the McCue Ridge lookout as US 1996 and says the U.S. Forest Service administers the site.1 The lookout stood in Chelan County, Washington, in the Wenatchee National Forest, low on McCue Ridge.2,3

The L-4 cab went up in 1931.1,2,3 Willhite Web says it sat on a 40-foot tower made of timbers cut from the area.3 Firelookout.com names Charles G. Brown as known lookout personnel, but it gives no dates.2

Willhite Web also has photo survey panoramas taken on October 3, 1934.3

The cab was abandoned in the 1950s, and the register says the lookout is no longer there.1 In 2014 the Chiwaukum Creek Fire burned over the ridge, decades after the cab was gone.3

Today the lookout is gone. The Forest Lookouts page marks the site as removed.4 Willhite Web's 2015 visit found two footings just above the snow.3 Its inventory of what is left includes concrete footings, telephone wire, pieces of a wood stove, and old cans and dishware.3

Willhite Web names Scottish Lakes High Camp, under a mile off, as the best place to start, and rates the approach an easy hike or snowshoe.3 The old spur trail up to the site is difficult to find.3 Trees have grown back, so the views are very limited.3 Check with the Forest Service for current access rules before you go.

  1. McCue Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/mccue-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. McCue Ridge Fire Lookout Tower, Firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/mccueridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. McCue Ridge Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/mccue_ridge_lookout/scottish_lakes_374.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. McCue Ridge, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/mccue-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

McCue Ridge Lookout 1938
McCue Ridge Lookout 1938 (1938)Photo: Eric Willhite collection - Austin Post photo, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
McCue Ridge Lookout
McCue Ridge LookoutPhoto: Eric Willhite collection - Ken Wilson photo, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
McCue Ridge Lookout site
McCue Ridge Lookout sitePhoto: Eric Willhite, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (N)
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (SE)
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (SW)
McCue Ridge Lookout panoramic 10-3-1934 (SW) (1934)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, 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height, 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, height, status, agency, 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.