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Fire lookout · Columbia County, Washington

Oregon Butte Lookout

Gable-roof L-4 cab built in 1931 on Oregon Butte in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness; staffed in summers, reached only by trail, and reported saved in the 2021 Green Ridge fire.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Reached on foot or horseback on Forest Service Trail #3134 in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness; the cab is a staffed lookout.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
About three miles from the Teepee Trailhead, crossing a ridge and a saddle.
Staffing
Staffed during fire season (as of 2018)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Ground-level cabGable-roof L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1931
Height
Unknown
Elevation
6,387 ft (1,947 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Columbia County, Washington
Coordinates
46.10948, −117.67920
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-oregon-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 3.9 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. 1914 EventSite established, per TrailChick; the current structure dates from 1931Source: trailchick.com
  2. No record between 1914 and 1931
  3. 1931 BuiltGable-roof L-4 cab; the register, firelookout and TrailChick agreeSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.com, trailchick.com
  4. No record between 1931 and 1953
  5. 1953 StaffedSpike Armstrong named as the lookout in an August 1953 Umatilla National Forest News item, as quoted on a third-party siteSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1953 and 1972
  7. 1972 Last staffedRegister: in active status until 1972Source: nhlr.org
  8. 1980 RestoredRegister: restored in 1980 and regularly staffed sinceSource: nhlr.org
  9. No record between 1980 and 1996
  10. 1996 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 15, 1996 as NHLR US 144Source: nhlr.org
  11. No record between 1996 and 2021
  12. 2021 FireGreen Ridge fire, July 2021; cab reported saved by fire wrap and retardant drops (single source)Source: trailchick.com
  13. 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.

Oregon Butte rises as the high point of southeastern Washington's share of the Blue Mountains.1 Its lookout stands on the Umatilla National Forest, inside the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness.2 The cab was built in 1931 in the gable-roofed L-4 style.2,3,1 The National Historic Lookout Register says there were once 200 gable-roof L-4 lookouts across the Northwest, before 1933, and that fewer than 15 remain.2 A hiking guide also gives 1914 as the year the site was established, with the current structure dating from 1931.1 The register has listed the lookout since January 15, 1996.2

In August 1953 a Umatilla National Forest News item, quoted on a Washington lookouts history site, named Spike Armstrong as the lookout on Oregon Butte.4 It described his big dog, Shadrack, packing water and groceries to the lookout.4 The register says the cab was in active status until 1972. It was restored in 1980 and has been regularly staffed since.2

In July 2021 lightning started the Turkey Tail and Green Ridge fires, which were managed as a single blaze.1 According to one hiking guide, that fire burned over 40,000 acres of the Blue Mountains and led to the evacuation of Oregon Butte.1 The guide says the flames passed over the summit, but the cab survived thanks to protective fire wrap and retardant drops from aircraft. Trees within 100 yards were damaged.1 That account rests on this one guide, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed until Forest Service fire records are checked.

Today the lookout is reached on foot or on horseback.5 Forest Service Trail #3134 runs about three miles from the Teepee Trailhead, crossing a ridge and a saddle on the way, and it is maintained for foot and horse use only because it lies inside the wilderness.5 The cab is staffed each summer.3,1 A 2006 visit report on the register found it in good shape.2 We found no source saying whether the cab can be rented, so check with the Forest Service before planning a stay.

  1. Oregon Butte - TrailChick, TrailChick, https://trailchick.com/wa-state-fire-lookouts/oregon-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Oregon Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wa/oregon-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Oregon Butte Fire Lookout Cabin, Fire Lookout, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/oregonbutte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Oregon Butte - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Washington Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/oregon-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Oregon Butte Trail #3134, USDA Forest Service Umatilla National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/recreation/trails/oregon-butte-trail-3134 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Oregon Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Oregon Butte Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Oregon Butte in 1940
Oregon Butte in 1940 (1940)Photo: the Umatilla N.F. and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Oregon Butte in 2002
Oregon Butte in 2002 (2002)Photo: the Umatilla N.F. and Rex Kamstra, via firelookout.com · source
Photo of Oregon 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, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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: what it is built of, design, staffing, dates, 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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: 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
  6. TrailChick: Washington State Fire Lookouts Gave us: photos, links 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
  7. 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
  8. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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

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