TULARE COUNTY
BLUE RIDGE
California Department of Forestry
19S-29E-9
19S-29E-9
October 27, 1930: "Lookout station work included $1800 for a steel tower on Blue Ridge, Tulare county." (The Los Angeles Times)
December 4, 1930: "A number of inspectors and rangers of the forest service left here yesterday for Blue Ridge, east of Exeter, where they will begin the building of a lookout tower. It is to be 60 feet in height and of steel construction.
Blue Ridge is above Grouse Valley and commands a splendid view of the foothill and valley country as well as the nearby mountains.
A road is now being surveyed to the lookout station site and it is planned to complete it this winter." (Fresno Bee)
April 4, 1931: "The foundation has been laid for a lookout on Blue Ridge and a steel tower will be erected by state officers within the next few weeks." (Fresno Bee)
April 27, 1931: "The new lookout tower on Blue Ridge Mountain, thirty miles by an airline from Porterville, is now nearing completion, with the men of the forest service doing the work. The site of the tower is at an elevation of 5,200 feet, with the structure itself rising seventy feet above the base. The construction is of steel.
Recently a signaling test was made from the lookout tower to the forest service headquarters in Porterville. State Ranger Cecil A. Metcalf, using a gasoline lantern, flashed signals to C.A. Mullen of the headquarters office, who was stationed at the Porterville Airport. Mullen answered the signals with his automobile headlights. The test was made to determine if night messages could be flashed, as the telephone exchange at Springville, through which the Blue Ridge telephone passes, closes at 6 o'clock in the evening.
The new lookout tower overlooks the Yokohl Valley and is expected to prove of great value in spotting fires in the mountains for many miles around. The lights of Porterville, Lindsay and Exeter can be seen from the lookout tower.
One of the objects of interest on the summit of Blue Ridge, near the tower, is the balancing rock. A great rock, weighing many tons, is supported on a rock pedestal, and while it has held its position for ages, it looks as if it might topple from its place any moment. The rock appears to be perfectly balanced." (Fresno Bee)
May 20, 1931: "The new fire lookout station on Blue Ridge Mountain, erected recently by men of the forest service, will be formally dedicated Sunday, the light in the tower being illuminated for the first time Saturday night. Although the tower is forty miles by road from Porterville the light will be visible here.
Next Saturday the San Joaquin Valley Conservation Committee of the California State Chamber of Commerce will meet at the lookout station and will remain over for the inspection and dedication Sunday." (Fresno Bee)
May 23, 1931: "Three Kern county men, Roger V. Wood, C.E. Houchin, and P.A. Klipstein, will participate in dedication of the Blue Ridge lookout tower on Blue Ridge mountain, east of Exeter, today and Sunday, according to word received here today from the district office of the California State Chamber of Commerce.
The new lookout tower, which overlooks the Yokohl valley, is expected to prove of great value in spotting fires in the mountains for many miles around. Forest service men have been doing the work on the tower, the site of which is at an elevation of 5200 feet, with the structure itself rising 75 feet above the base." (Bakersfield Californian)
June 11, 1931: "The forest service has completed a 75 foot lookout tower at an elevation of 5,200 feet, just east of Exeter, Tulare county." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
May 18, 1952: "The state division of forestry fire lookout station on top of Blue Ridge has begun operation." (The Fresno Bee The Republican)
June 24, 1964: "Maurice A. Clark, 71, a retired state forest fire lookout died yesterday in a local hospital after a long illness. Born in Victory, Wis., he came to California and Fresno 63 years ago.
He worked as a forest fire lookout for the state for nine years until a heart attack forced his retirement about ten years ago. He worked at the Blue Ridge lookout station east of Exeter, Tulare County, during the summer months." (The Fresno Bee The Republican)
He worked as a forest fire lookout for the state for nine years until a heart attack forced his retirement about ten years ago. He worked at the Blue Ridge lookout station east of Exeter, Tulare County, during the summer months." (The Fresno Bee The Republican)
2010: The tower dismantled carefully and moved to the Tulare County Fairgrounds to be used as a interpretive display.
