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Fire lookout · Ferry County, Washington

Stahley Mountain Lookout Site

Also known as Stahley Peak

Stahley Mountain's 1934 28-foot pole L-4 tower served the Aircraft Warning Service in 1942-43 and was removed or destroyed in the 1950s; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed or destroyed in the 1950s; sources disagree which, and none describes the site today

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

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower28-foot pole tower with L-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
28 ft (8.5 m)
Elevation
3,359 ft (1,024 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Ferry County, Washington
Coordinates
48.48901, −118.24968
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-stahley-mountain

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 4.1 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 EventColville Examiner item dated November 4, 1933 says a camp of 59 men was still finishing projects, including the Staley lookout stationSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1934 Built28-foot pole tower with L-4 cab finished in 1934Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1936 StaffedWendell Heide was at the station for a few days during an electric storm (item dated June 6, 1936); not a long-term staffing recordSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1942 EventAircraft Warning Service used the lookout; activated March 27, 1942Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1943 EventAircraft Warning Service use ended; deactivated July 1, 1943Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. 1944 StaffedMr. and Mrs. V.L. Stevens of Northport occupied the lookout (October 1944 item)Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1950 DestroyedFireLookout.com and Will Hite say destroyed in the 1950s; the year 1950 is a placeholder for the decadeSources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. 1950 RemovedRegister says removed in the 1950s; the year 1950 is a placeholder for the decade, not a recorded dateSource: firetower.org
  9. No record between 1950 and 2012
  10. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered with the Former Fire Lookout Sites Register on November 19, 2012Source: firetower.org
  11. 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 Stahley Mountain lookout was a 28-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab, finished in 1934.1,2,3 The register names the Colville National Forest as the unit, and the Colville Examiner had reported in November 1933 that fifty-nine men at a camp were still finishing projects, including the Staley mountain lookout station, using that spelling.1,4

Wendell Heide spent a few days at the station during an electric storm in June 1936.4

The Aircraft Warning Service used the lookout in 1942. Records give March 27, 1942 as its activation date and July 1, 1943 as its deactivation date.4,3

In October 1944 the Colville Examiner reported four peaks with men and their wives on them.4 Mr. and Mrs. V.L. Stevens of Northport were on Stahley.4,3

Sources disagree on how the tower ended. The register says it was removed in the 1950s, while FireLookout.com and Will Hite's page say it was destroyed in that decade.1,2,3

No source we read describes what, if anything, remains at the site today, or whether the public can reach it. The register names the Colville National Forest, so that office is the place to ask before anyone goes looking.1

  1. Stahley Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/stahley-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Stahley Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/stahleymtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stahley Mountain Fire Lookout Site, Will Hite Web, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/stahley_peak/lookout_099.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stahley Peak, Forest Lookouts (Washington), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/stahley-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942 (1942)Photo: Elmer Fine collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942 (1942)Photo: Elmer Fine collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942 (1942)Photo: Elmer Fine collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942
Stahley Mountain Lookout 1942 (1942)Photo: Elmer Fine collection, 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: 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.