LOMA PRIETA
Santa Clara County - California Department of Forestry
March 11, 1927: "George I. Gillette, Santa Cruz county and state forest ranger, and Henry L. Washburn, county farm advisor, were in Watsonville yesterday in behalf of the establishment of a forest lookout station on Loma Prieta peak, to be started at once and completed by May 1, according to present plans. Initial information on the project was published in last evening's News.
Cash subscriptions for about $300 will be required to install the station, that being sufficient to cover such expenses in the construction as are not already donated by companys and individuals in the district affected.
A telephone line, from the station to Mark's ranch, the last ranch from Skyland to Loma Prieta, a distance of about three miles, will have to be built at a telephone cost only of about $225, the Monterey Bay Redwood company having donated the poles to the timber line. This company has also donated the lumber with which the lookout station will be built. The Highland farm center has donated the teams for hauling the material to the lookout, and has also subscribed some of the labor to set the poles, and help construct the lookout. The state forestry department will furnish an engineer to lay the line of poles, and install the telephone system.
The state forestry commission will pay a full time lookout man for the fire season, June 1st to December 1 st, and also telephone engineer to help Ranger Gillette build the telephone line. Louis Lopes of this city, who with his brother owns what is known as Highland Park up the Highland Way, has subscribed toward the fund now being started to raise the necessary $300." (Santa Cruz Evening News)
Cash subscriptions for about $300 will be required to install the station, that being sufficient to cover such expenses in the construction as are not already donated by companys and individuals in the district affected.
A telephone line, from the station to Mark's ranch, the last ranch from Skyland to Loma Prieta, a distance of about three miles, will have to be built at a telephone cost only of about $225, the Monterey Bay Redwood company having donated the poles to the timber line. This company has also donated the lumber with which the lookout station will be built. The Highland farm center has donated the teams for hauling the material to the lookout, and has also subscribed some of the labor to set the poles, and help construct the lookout. The state forestry department will furnish an engineer to lay the line of poles, and install the telephone system.
The state forestry commission will pay a full time lookout man for the fire season, June 1st to December 1 st, and also telephone engineer to help Ranger Gillette build the telephone line. Louis Lopes of this city, who with his brother owns what is known as Highland Park up the Highland Way, has subscribed toward the fund now being started to raise the necessary $300." (Santa Cruz Evening News)
May 4, 1927: "A lookout station and tower will be installed on Loma Prieta in charge of a fire warden. From this station any fire starting in adjacent watersheds can be located quickly. Added to the tower already installed on Mount Bielawski, the watersheds of the Santa Cruz mountains will now receive protection on both sides." (Santa Cruz Evening News)
May 18, 1927: "A telephone line to the top of Loma Prieta mountain, over 4000 feet high, was completed today to the site of the new fire signal station. From this post can be seen all forests in the Santa Cruz and Ben Lomond mountains." (Oakland Tribune)
June 13, 1927: "Farm Advisor Henry Washburn today telephoned to the News office from the top of Loma Prieta, telling of the progress being made by the farm bureau workers in completing the fire trail to the summit. Mr. Washburn himself was working with the shovel. He says 3,000 feet of lumber was felled for the lookout station which is nearing completion." (Santa Cruz Evening News)
June 24, 1927: "High on the summit of Loma Prieta, overlooking vast acreages of valuable timber lands, work has started on one of the state's important fire lookout stations.
The station will require 3000 feet of lumber in its construction. Material will be hauled to summit on a recently completed fire trail.
From the lofty heights of Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz mountains, the lands of seven counties, and at night the lights of 27 cities and towns, can be seen." (The Times - San Mateo)
July 6, 1927: "High on the summit of Loma Prieta, overlooking vast acreages of valuable timber lands, work has started on one of the state's important fire lookout stations.
The station will require 3,000 feet of lumber in its construction. Material will be hauled to the summit on a recently completed fire trail.
From the lofty heights of Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz mountains, the lands of seven counties, and at night the lights of 27 cities and towns can be seen." (Madera Tribune)
May 31, 1930: "A telephone wire has already been built by the fire rangers from the lookout station at Loma Prieta, and telephone connections through the commercial wires have been established with the lookout on Mount Bielawski." (Oakland Tribune)
June 16, 1933: "A 60-foot fire lookout tower has been completed atop Loma Prieta mountain, just over the border line in Santa Clara county. This is the highest point in the entire Santa Cruz mountain range and will give free vision to all parts of the fire danger zone in the redwoods and other timber areas of the entire district.
In addition to erection of the tower, the first ever placed on Loma Prieta, there has been constructed living quarters and a plat room.
James Sharp of Burwell will be in charge of the tower. Heretofore the lookout on this mountain has been forced to operate and live in a tent.
The only cost in connection with the construction of this tower was the expense of purchase of nails. The lumber was all donated, being turned over to the state when contractors began grading on the Saratoga Gap and Woodwardia highway.
Old buildings were torn down and ample lumber was salvaged to build the entire tower plant. The lumber was turned over to Paul Smith, state forester, who supervised the construction of the lookout tower." (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
July 27, 1933: "The new fire tower observation tower on top of Loma Prieta has been completed. Without the tower the bare top of our mountain offered a good vantage point for detecting fires at long range but the additional 70 feet brings to this lookout a longer and wider range than most fire towers in the state. We are progressing in fire protection and these mountain peaks become monuments of safety. The new crown on top of Loma is visible now in certain lights from Santa Cruz." (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
August 30, 1933: "The Loma Prieta lookout reported unofficially that the smoke from the big forest fire in Oregon could be readily seen from the top of our highest mountain. Monday night the sun at the edge of Ben Lomond mountain shone as a blood red ball, a particular color which it assumes only when shining through smoke or occasionally through dust. It never takes on this color when seen through a fog." (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
November 25, 1933: "Extensive improvements are now being made on the Loma Prieta roads, which leads to the fire lookout station, situated on the topmost peak of Loma Prieta. Frank Thompson, district forester, who is in charge of all the fire control stations in California, is now scraping and grading the Uvas road which leads from Gilroy to Loma Prieta. The sharp turn in the road, directly below the outlook station, was blasted out recently, closing the last mile of drive, but is being graded this week. Road signs will be placed at all intersections when the grading is completed, thus making a very necessary improvement as motorist to the lookout station frequently take blind roads and have difficulty in finding a place to turn back in safety." (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
April 23, 1934: "Thieves who stole the register from Loma Prieta forest fire service lookout station were sought today. The book was valueless except as a souvenir, containing nothing but the names of numerous visitors who climbed the mountain and stopped at the lookout station on the summit, according to James Sharpe, lookout at the station. A window was broken by the thieves to enter the station, Sharpe reported to officers." (Oakland Tribune)
October 11, 1934: "W. D. Winters, State fire warden, announced today plans for the erection of a 35-foot steel lookout tower equipped with fire finder equipment at the Loma Prieta lookout station. The tower will provide one of the best views to be had from one point of the timber lands to the north, east, south and west. James Sharp, lookout man, will be stationed there. The old wooden tower will be dismantled. Cost of the new tower will be about $1400." (San Jose News)
November 20, 1934: "W.D. Winters, head of the State fire suppression crews in this district, announced today that the Division of Forestry has leased an acre of land on Loma Prieta and will build a modern fire lookout station to replace the obsolete structure now existing. The land was leased from the Monterey Bay redwood Company." (Oakland Tribune)
December 29, 1934: "A crew of 20 men will start construction of the new lookout tower at Loma Prieta just as soon as the weather clears up, W.D. Winters, chief of the state forestry service in Santa Cruz county, stated yesterday.
The men will be camped at the Marks place above Wrights. Some will work on the lookout building construction. Others will be employed in stringing a private one-wire telephone line. The forestry service will run between Alma and Loma Prieta.
The lookout construction crew, which comes from Almaden, has been on duty in San Benito county.
An old wooden lookout tower has stood at Loma Prieta for years but recently it has been so unsafe Winters has instructed his men never to use it. The new one will be ready for service before the fire season starts in the spring." (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
December 9, 1935: "As the danger of fires in rural and mountainous sections of Santa Clara County has decreased, the Loma Prieta lookout tower was closed for the winter season yesterday. Jim Sharpe, in charge of the tower, also left yesterday. Other stations closed earlier." (San Jose News)
August 20, 1941: "State division of forestry men today hunted the man who started the 'freak fire of the year' near Morgan Hill.
Answering a call from the Loma Prieta lookout, the crew found a pile of furniture burning on the roadside.
Richard Harkness, in charge of the crew, reported that spectators had seen a man stop, dump the burning furniture from a trailer on the back of his car and move on. The license number was not secured." (San Jose Evening News)