PLACER COUNTY
DUNCAN PEAK
Tahoe National Forest
September 30, 1915: "Mr. Larsen just returned from the Duncan Peak lookout, a primary lookout in the Foresthill district, where has been very busy gathering data for scientific fire plans." (Truckee Republican)
August 21, 1920: "We started south on Duncan ridge. A short distance brought us to the road leading to the lookout station of the Forest Department. It is located in a wooden building, open on the sides, a large table, a seat, large circular chart, and revolving pointer and telephone connections in all directions are the simple appliances used by the watchers to detect a fire and notify other parties of the Forest Service. The elevation of the lookout station is 7170 feet above the ocean.
The view was exceedingly grand, but there were other ranges and peaks to the East, some eight to nine thousand feet high, thereby shutting out the surface of Lake Tahoe, which is only 6225 feet in elevation.
The look-out building is on the peak of a high cone-like mass of white granite." (The Placer Herald) From a letter to the editor by W.B. Lardner.
September 19, 1941: "Work on the new Bald Mountain Lookout in the Foresthill Divide is nearing completion, District Ranger C.C. Beardsley of Foresthill District of the Tahoe National Forest announced yesterday.
Bald Mountain Lookout, situated about a mile from Robertson Flat, will replace the old Duncan Peak Lookout which has been in use since its construction in 1913.
The main Weather Bureau station for the Foresthill Divide country will now be located at Bald Mountain. Communication to the lookout will be made by telephone from Foresthill Ranger Station, and by radio to Banner Mountain and Nevada City Supervisor's headquarters.
Lookout Ed Rains will be stationed at the top of Bald Mountain, which has an elevation of 7200 feet, Rains, a native of the Foresthill region, has manned several stations in the district for the past eight years and is a veteran in the fire business, according to Ranger Beardsley. He further reports that Rains, from his knowledge of the country, is able to judge from wind currents and weather factors, the exact location of each puff of smoke he observes without the use of range finders, maps, and other fire location apparatus." (Nevada State Journal)
August 18, 2013: The American Fire's advancement has forced the closure of the lookout and nearby campgrounds.
