Needles Lookout – Giant Sequoia National Monument CA

Description

Giant Sequoia National Monument is a designated area encompassing 328,315 acres in the Sierra National Forest, Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park.

“Built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), this lookout is a 14×14 foot wooden C-3 style cab. The lookout, which sits at elevation 8,245 feet, is in very good condition with only slight modifications. The windows, siding, roof and tower remain as original. The cab has over-head shutter supports which became standard on C-3 and L-4 cabs in 1936. This type of construction lends to its historical importance. The lookout sits on a granite pinnacle. Access to the cab is along stairways and walkways that are suspended from the granite or across granite outcrops. According to Mark Swift, archaeologist who nominated The Needles to the National Historic Lookout Register, The Needles is ‘one of the most fantastic lookout locations in California rivaled by Buck Rock on the North end of the Forest.'”
– Buck Rock Foundation Website

During the 1930s, there were over 600 fire lookouts in the California Mountain ranges. Today, there are a few hundred left, and 10 of those in the Sequoia National Forest.
– https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/lookouts/lookouts.html

Tragically, the lookout burned down in an isolated structure fire on July 28, 2011. This is a tragic loss to the District, stated District Ranger Priscilla Summers. The loss of this historic landmark is significant.
– Forest Service Press Release