BIG BAR MOUNTAIN
Butte County - Plumas National Forest
June 14, 1923: "Edward I. Kotok accompanied Supervisor D.N. Rogers of the Plumas National Forest on a visit to the western area of the reserve this week. They are engaged in making a visibility study from various fire patrol lookout stations, among them the Big Bar lookout." (Plumas National-Bulletin)
August 16, 1923: "Forest Service headquarters at Quincy was startled Monday night upon receiving an urgent phone call from lookout Troy Hunter, on Big Bar, that he was up in the telephone station in a tree, with what appeared to be a lion glowering at him from below. Hunter had just returned to his post from getting a pail of water from a nearby spring. Having no weapon, he phoned headquarters, which forwarded valuable and authoritative advice, which was of doubtful use in the fire guard's dilemma." (Plumas National Bulletin)
May 22, 1924: "James Hanson, of Berry Creek, is lookout man at Big Bar, this year." (Feather River Bulletin)
October 9, 1924: "Supervisor D.N. Rogers, of the Plumas National Forest, Wednesday noon left Quincy to supervise the construction of a new lookout station at Big Bar to replace an improvised one long in service.
This station will be mounted on a steel tower 60 feet high, whereas the old lookout was a platform three feet wide built around the trunk of a tree about 60 feet from the ground.
The Forest Service road construction crew is moving from Milford to the Merrimac district to build a trail from Swayne to Big Bar, over which materials for the new lookout will be carried. The trail later will be of use to hunters and pleasure seekers." (Feather River Bulletin)
This station will be mounted on a steel tower 60 feet high, whereas the old lookout was a platform three feet wide built around the trunk of a tree about 60 feet from the ground.
The Forest Service road construction crew is moving from Milford to the Merrimac district to build a trail from Swayne to Big Bar, over which materials for the new lookout will be carried. The trail later will be of use to hunters and pleasure seekers." (Feather River Bulletin)
May 28, 1925: "D.N. Rogers, supervisor of the Plumas National Forest, Saturday afternoon returned to his home at Quincy from a tour of inspections of the reserve.
Rogers reports the automobile road to the top of Big Bar almost completed and ready for use. By July 1 a 65-foot lookout tower and quarters for the lookout man will be completed." (Plumas National Bulletin)
August 13, 1925: "The old tree lookout at Big Bar Mountain has been supplanted by a steel lookout station. Cass Wilkins is the lookout there." (Oroville Daily Register)
September 3, 1925: "Completion was celebrated this week of fourteen miles of new road between Stanwood in Butte county, and Four Trees on the Quincy-Oroville road. This new construction, known as Big Bar road, gives access to the recently-erected fire lookout station on the top of Big Bar mountain. The road crosses the French Creek divide and is a first class piece of work throughout." (Plumas National Bulletin)
June 7, 1928: "Don Brown has accepted a position in the Forestry Service at a lookout station near Merrimac." (Oroville Mercury Register)
October 8, 1928: "Roy Deer of Paradise is stationed as Lookout on Big Bar Mountain for the United States Forest Service. He fills the vacancy made by the departure of D. Brown, who accepted a position as time-keeper at one of the camps of the Swayne Lumber Company." (Oroville Mercury Register)
June 26, 1929: "Roy Fox has been appointed lookout for the forest service and is stationed at the Big Bar Lookout on top of the mountain." (Mercury-Register)
November 23, 1929: "Roy Fox, 22, federal forest service employe, received a fracture of one rib yesterday afternoon when he fell through a trap door at Big Bar Lookout station. He received treatment in Oroville." (Mercury-Register)
September 2, 1937: "A forest fire which broke out in the Big Bend country, near Intake, late Monday afternoon, has been put under control by a force of 200 men brought in from the CCC camps.
The fire started when a cabin at Intake, belonging to a Mr. Reese, caught fire. The flames traveled upward and for a time was thought that the Big Bar lookout station was doomed." (Plumas Independent)
December 29, 1938: "To improve fire protection facilities in the Feather River Canyon, a new forest service telephone line is to be constructed from Big Bar Lookout on the Plumas National Forest to Pulga. The new line will be an improvement over the existing line, and at Pulga will link the telephone system of the Plumas National Forest with that of the Lassen National Forest so that fire fighters can be quickly summoned from either forest in case of emergency." (Indian Valley Record)
January 5, 1939: "To improve fire protection facilities in the Feather River Canyon, a new Forest Service telephone line is to be constructed from Big Bar Lookout on the Plumas National Forest to Pulga." (Plumas Independent)
November 23, 1948: "Construction work will start next April on a new lookout tower on Big Bar mountain in the Plumas national forest, the forest service reported this week.
The old 60-foot tower installed 20 years ago was razed recently by forest construction crews. It was declared unsatisfactory in a 1947 inspection. Foundations for the new tower are already in place.
The new tower will be modern, of aluminum alloy and topped with a 14-foot hexagonal room glassed in for observation purposes and equipped as living quarters for the lookout. It will cost about $10,000.
To reach the smaller observation room in the old tower it was necessary to climb a 60-foot ladder straight up the side. The new one will have a stairway and a three-foot catwalk circling the observation room. Previously the lookout man ate and slept in a cabin at the tower base, spending only eight to ten hours daily in the observation room.
Charles Andres, 67, has handled the Big Bar lookout job for several years and is looking forward to using the new tower with much pleasure." (Reno Evening Gazette)
August 4, 1949: "A new lookout tower on Big Bar mountain in the Plumas national forest was constructed this week, according to Ranger William Turpin of Brush creek ranger station, who is in charge of that area.
Turpin said the new tower is 60 feet in height and of all steel construction. It will replace a temporary "Crow's nest" 50 feet in a sugar pine tree now in use by Lookout Joe Gadoury, detection man stationed on Big Bar.
Turpin said plans now call for the construction of a 14' by 14' glassed in observation room on top of the tower which will also be outfitted as living quarters. The project is planned for completion by August 20." (Reno Evening Gazette)
Turpin said the new tower is 60 feet in height and of all steel construction. It will replace a temporary "Crow's nest" 50 feet in a sugar pine tree now in use by Lookout Joe Gadoury, detection man stationed on Big Bar.
Turpin said plans now call for the construction of a 14' by 14' glassed in observation room on top of the tower which will also be outfitted as living quarters. The project is planned for completion by August 20." (Reno Evening Gazette)
July 18, 1952: "Mrs Margaret Stroberger, an alternate lookout at Big Bar, an isolated fire detection station overlooking the Feather River Canyon, sleeps on an air mattress in the tower 50 feet above the ground.
She prefers it there because it is cool and she is not bothered by mosquitoes, mice, lizards or other animals---or so she thought.
But the other night she literally was on pins and needles as she was awakened by a cool nose nuzzling her and turned on her flash light to discover a porcupine.
She made a clean sweep, however, by grabbing a broom and heading him back down the stairs." (The Fresno Bee The Republican)