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Fire lookout · Chelan County, Washington

Stormy Mountain Lookout Site

Chelan County, WA cupola lookout built 1919 on Stormy Mountain; a Sept 1930 fire destroyed the station, an L-4 cab followed, and it was removed or destroyed in 1955.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. L-4 cab removed or destroyed in 1955; no source describes what remains on the summit today

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. The hiking guide describes a gravel-road approach and a 1.2-mile hike to the summit and mentions no closure. No Forest Service statement was read.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Guide: 1.2 miles and 1,100 ft of gain; gravel roads, some clearance best, good tires. Check conditions before going.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabCupola cabin (1919), then a gable-roofed L-4 cab (1930)The designs: L-4, Cupola house
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1919
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,198 ft (2,194 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Chelan County, Washington
Coordinates
47.89816, −120.35222
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-stormy-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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 4.2 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 EventSummit developed as a heliograph site with a camp; heliograph passed messages from Chelan to Leavenworth in 1915Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1919 BuiltCupola cabin builtSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1924 StaffedArthur Fowler named as lookout (Leavenworth Echo item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page)Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1930 BurnedFire destroyed the station in September 1930 while the lookout was away at his homesteadSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1930 Replaced by a new structureCupola replaced by a gable-roofed L-4 cab, per the register, firelookout.com and the guide; the timing relative to the September fire is disputedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. 1930 StaffedJ.B. Richardson described as lookout for several yearsSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1933 StaffedJ.B. Richardson listed as known lookout personnelSource: firelookout.com
  8. 1941 StaffedSummer 1941 letters home from lookout John Lutz, linked on the register pageSource: firetower.org
  9. 1955 Destroyedfirelookout.com and the guide say the L-4 cab was destroyed in 1955Sources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1955 RemovedRegister says the L-4 cab was removed in 1955Source: firetower.org
  11. No record between 1955 and 2012
  12. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered October 28, 2012, nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  13. 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.

Stormy Mountain is in Chelan County, Washington, in the Wenatchee National Forest, at 7,198 feet.1,2 A 1930 account, quoted on the Forest Lookouts page, describes the lookout as perched on the Entiat-Chelan divide, with a view across the Wenatchee and Chelan forests.3

Around 1914 the summit was set up as a heliograph station, with a camp.3,4 In 1915 the station relayed messages between Chelan and Leavenworth, alongside Sugarloaf Peak and Tumwater Mountain.3 The summit got a cupola cabin in 1919.1,2,4

The earliest named lookout we found is Arthur Fowler, in 1924, in a Leavenworth newspaper item quoted on the Forest Lookouts page.3 By 1930 J.B. Richardson had been the lookout for several years.3 Firelookout.com lists Richardson for 1933.2 The register page links to letters John Lutz sent home from the lookout in summer 1941.1

In September 1930 the station burned. A Wenatchee newspaper reported that a fire destroyed the station early one morning while the lookout had left for his homestead, and that the tower was wiped out, telephone included.3 The Leavenworth Echo said replacing the station would cost at least $1,200, and that funding was uncertain ahead of the 1931 fire season.3

The register and firelookout.com say an L-4 cab with a gable roof replaced the cupola in 1930 and stood until 1955.1,2 The guide says the same.4 That timeline is hard to square with the September fire and the replacement cost, so the guide suggests a 1930 style change may date the fire instead.4 The sources do not settle the order.

The sources also disagree on how the L-4 cab ended in 1955. The register says it was removed, while firelookout.com and the guide say it was destroyed.1,2,4

The guide gives the hike to the summit as 1.2 miles with 1,100 feet of gain, on gravel roads where some clearance is best, with good tires. It advises simply following the trail to the top.4 We found no source describing what remains on the summit today. None of the pages says the site is closed, so we list it as open to hikers. Check road and trail conditions before you go.

  1. Stormy Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/stormy-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Stormy Mtn. Fire Lookout Cabin, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/stormymtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Stormy Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/stormy-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Stormy Mountain Lookout Site - Chelan County, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/stormy_mountain/lake_chelan_358.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Stormy Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1925
1925 (1925)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Chopping Wood in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz)
Chopping Wood in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz) (1941)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Foodstuffs in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz)
Foodstuffs in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz) (1941)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Mule team to access the tower in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz)
Mule team to access the tower in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz) (1941)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Water pack in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz)
Water pack in 1941 (photo from Mark Lutz) (1941)Photo: 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. 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, status, 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

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