FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Asotin County, Washington

Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout Site

Also known as Round Prairie (Smoothing Iron Ridge)

Umatilla NF ridge emergency cabin dated 1935 (1933 per Willhite); moved 1950 and 2003 to private land in Whitman County. Firetower lists it gone.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. Cabin is on private property in Whitman County; a 2021 visit was made with special permission. The original ridge is National Forest land reached by forest roads from Pomeroy.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Willhite Web: from Pomeroy take 15th Street south, then forest roads to Round Prairie; 500 to 1000 feet of easy walking to the old site. No standing structure is reported there.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-5 cabin (firelookout.com); called an emergency lookout house by Willhite WebThe design: L-5
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
5,000 ft (1,524 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Asotin County, Washington
Coordinates
46.17992, −117.41315
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-smoothing-iron-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 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. 1933 BuiltWillhite Web says a 1933 CCC camp built the emergency lookout house. Other sources give 1935.Source: willhiteweb.com
  2. 1935 BuiltDated 1935 by Former Fire Lookout Sites, firelookout.com and Rex's Fire Lookout Page; the Former Fire Lookout Sites panoramas are dated August 7, 1935.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1940 EventUsed for emergencies in the 1940s; no exact start year given.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  4. 1950 MovedMoved off the ridge to a farm 4.5 miles northeast (firelookout.com) or 5 miles northeast (Willhite Web). Willhite says possibly moved by Steve Black.Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. No record between 1950 and 2003
  6. 2003 MovedFarm sold to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Schlee family moved the cabin to family property on another ranch in Whitman County (Willhite Web). firelookout.com says a private farm in Whitman County.Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered December 17, 2012Source: firetower.org
  8. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. When it came down is not recorded.

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 Smoothing Iron Ridge lookout was a cabin on a ridge in the Umatilla National Forest, in Asotin County, southeast Washington.1,2,3 One source calls it an L-5 cabin.2 Former Fire Lookout Sites says it was built in 1935, and it dates archive panoramas of the site to August 7 of that year.1 Rex's Fire Lookout Page also gives 1935.4 Willhite Web disagrees: it says a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the Asotin District built the emergency lookout house in 1933.3

During the 1940s the cabin saw emergency use.1,2

In 1950 the structure was relocated from the ridge to a farm about 4.5 to 5 miles northeast.2,3 Willhite Web says the move was possibly made by Steve Black.3

A state wildlife agency and an elk foundation bought the farm in 2003.3 The Schlee family then moved the cabin to family property on another ranch in Whitman County.3 firelookout.com likewise places the cabin on a privately owned farm in Whitman County from 2003.2

The two accounts of its fate disagree. Former Fire Lookout Sites says it is now gone.1 Willhite Web's 2021 account describes the cabin as in good shape at a secure spot in Whitman County.3

At the original ridge, the foundation has been hard to find.3 No source describes what, if anything, is on the ridge today.

The cabin sits on private property.3 Willhite Web says Ralph and Peggy Owen visited it in 2021 with special permission.3 To reach the ridge, Willhite Web gives forest-road directions from Pomeroy, then a walk of 500 to 1000 feet that it calls easy.3

  1. Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/smoothing-iron-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Smoothing Iron Fire Lookout Cabin, Fire Lookout (firelookout.com), https://www.firelookout.com/wa/smoothingiron.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout Site - Round Prairie, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/smoothing_iron_ridge/round_prairie_050.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Smoothing Iron - Forest Lookouts, Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/smoothing-iron.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (N)
Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (N) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (SE)
Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (SE) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (SW)
Smoothing Iron Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-7-1935 (SW) (1935)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, 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. 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
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.