Henness Ridge Fire Lookout, Fire lookout tower in Yosemite West, United States.
Henness Ridge Fire Lookout is a three-story redwood watchtower standing on a granite foundation with an observation room featuring an external catwalk, living quarters, and a garage. The structure sits at 6,300 feet elevation and overlooks the surrounding forest landscape that it once helped protect.
The lookout was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps following a forest fire in the Sierra Nevada in 1928. It served as a fire watchpost for the National Park Service until 1966 when such towers were gradually replaced by other detection methods.
The structure represents National Park Service rustic architecture, designed by John D. Coffman following the 1928 Sequoia National Park fire.
The tower is reached via a hiking trail starting from Azalea Lane and involves significant elevation gain over challenging terrain. Visitors should prepare for variable weather and bring proper hiking gear suited to mountain conditions.
The structure still contains original observation equipment including specialized lightning protection systems that reveal how fire lookout technology functioned in practice. These details show the engineering care needed for staffing such isolated high-altitude posts.
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