SHASTA COUNTY
LASSEN PEAK
Lassen Volcanic National Park
31N-4E-34
31N-4E-34
November 14, 1912: "Forest Ranger E. F. Smith has been in charge of the planting, most of which has been done in the last three weeks. The government is unusually active in this section, and aside from starting young forests, is extending telephone lines to all portions of the reserve. Within the last month, a telephone station has been established on the very peak of Mt. Lassen, and another on Bull Hill, where lookouts will be established during the summer months. The purpose of the phone system is to report to the chief ranger the presence of forest fires immediately, that they may be fought and subdued before millions of feet of lumber have been burned." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 12, 1913: "Transportation difficulties in connection with building a fire lookout station on the top of Lassen Peak have been solved by constructing a house in sections and packing it up to the peak on horses. The station, which will be 10 x 10 feet, was designed by Forest Supervisor Kling and was built at Red Bluff. No section is over six feet on its longest side or weigh over 100 pounds.
The house is now being packed up the mountain where it will be assembled and fastened together with iron clamps and steel cables extending from opposite diagonal corners and anchored to the ground.
A specially designed waterproof telephone connects the lookout with the main line to the Forest Supervisor's headquarters, and this station is fully equipped with all the necessary locating apparatus to report all fires occurring on the Lassen National Forest." (Yuma Examiner (Arizona))
June 12, 1913: "Transportation difficulties in connection with building a fire lookout station on the top of Lassen Peak have been solved by constructing a house in sections and packing it up to the peak on horses. The station, which will be 10 x 10 feet, was designed by Forest Supervisor Kling and was built at Red Bluff. No section is over six feet on its longest side or weigh over 100 pounds.
The house is now being packed up the mountain where it will be assembled and fastened together with iron clamps and steel cables extending from opposite diagonal corners and anchored to the ground.
A specially designed waterproof telephone connects the lookout with the main line to the Forest Supervisor's headquarters, and this station is fully equipped with all the necessary locating apparatus to report all fires occurring on the Lassen National Forest." (Yuma Examiner (Arizona))
December 6, 1913: "During the summer just closed three lookout houses were constructed on the Lassen National Forest. These houses are each ten feet square with windows all the way around. One is on the summit of Mt. Lassen. This is said to be the highest peak in California used as a lookout in locating forest fires. The lookout on Mt. Lassen can see about sixty per cent of the Lassen Forest as well as parts of the Plumas, Shasta and Trinity Forests.
These houses were first cut out according to plan, put to gether, then taken down and bundled up, each piece and bundle being marked. They were then hauled as near the desired location as possible. The first two houses were carried to the top of the peaks by pack train, but the house on Mt. Lassen was carried to the summit by forest rangers after it had been carried to the base of the peak by pack horses. Each ranger carried from thirty to sixty-five pounds on his back and made two trips a day.
Each lookout house is equipped with a stove, a bed which folds against the wall, a folding table and a telephone which connects either with the supervisor's headquarters at Mineral or with the district ranger's." (Chico Record)
June 13, 1914: "Forest Ranger Abbey and his party are safe. Word that they had escaped the eruption of Mt Lassen, which they were ascending when the eruption occurred, was contained in a telegram to the United States forestry service, received here (San Francisco) today from Supervisor Rushing. The lookout station on the summit, near the crater, was destroyed, the telegram from Rushing said. (Reno Evening Gazette)
June 14, 1914: "The explosion today was the fifth in the series that began on May 30th, and each successive outburst has been far more violent than the preceding one. So far no damage has been done except the destruction of the Forest Service's lookout house on the peak. The mountain is now covered with debris on this side to a point half way down the main peak. Above a sharp line every thing is dark, while below the snow gleams in the sun." (San Francisco Chronicle)
March 5, 1920: "Before coming to Woodland, Marshall M.F. Packer, who passed away here this morning, was a lookout on Mt Lassen, and left just a day or so before the volcano erupted and destroyed the cabin in which he lived. He heard the rumbling of the mountain in its internal eruptions before the country for miles about. It was his custom to leave each winter, and it was just as he had gone that the great peak emulated Vesuvius.
The cabin in which the deceased lived in the national forest reserve was erected of material carried to the side of the peak by human hands. Mr. Packer carried the heaviest piece of lumber and fixture to the scene of the building operation and it was the door. He settled in Woodland after the eruption and had resided here ever since." (Woodland Daily Democrat)
February 15, 1935: "An observatory on the top point of Mt. Lassen, only active volcano in the United States, is the proposition receiving serious consideration of park officials.
Such an observatory would serve a triple purpose, in the opinion of L.W. Collins, Lassen national park superintendent. In addition to furthering the study of astronomy, it would provide a location for a forest fire lookout post and a rest haven for hikers.
Last summer, 5200 persons climbed the mountain, encountering severe wind and extreme cold at the top." (Ogden Standard-Examiner)