MOUNT TAMALPAIS (Gardner)
Marin County
September 19, 1919: "At 2 o'clock this afternoon 200 soldiers and hundreds of citizens believed they had the fire which is threatening to destroy the famous Muir Woods partially under control. With the increasing wind it was uncertain whether they would be able to hold the fire. It was said that the giant redwoods were still menaced.
Mill Valley is now believed to be out of danger.
The lookout on Mt. Tamalpais reported that owing to the dense smoke he was unable to determine the extent of the raging forest fire." (Berkeley Daily Gazette)
Mill Valley is now believed to be out of danger.
The lookout on Mt. Tamalpais reported that owing to the dense smoke he was unable to determine the extent of the raging forest fire." (Berkeley Daily Gazette)
July 25, 1929: "Hugo Legler, lookout on Mt. Tamalpais, is convinced that a pyromaniac is at large in Mill Valley.
In the last nine days there have been ten grass and bush fires started in that district, including three large ones in the last two days, which have only been prevented from causing another catastrophe by prompt attention.
Legler says that in his experience the average number of such fires for July and August have been five a month." (San Mateo Times)
November 18, 1929: "Under the direction of E.E. Gardner, county fire warden, volunteer fire-fighters were called from all sections of the county. Charles Crum, Mill Valley chief of police, summoned members of the county-wide American Legion emergency committee, who aided in checking the blaze.
Favorable winds assisted the fire-fighters in their work. The blaze was confined to frank's canyon. Heavy wooded lands lying on the opposite side of the Manzanite-Dipsea highway and the Tamalpais toll road were periled for a time. Warden Gardner had men stationed at outposts there ready to check the flames.
The fire, first discovered by Hugo Fegler, watchman employed by the Marin Municipal water District, from his post at the summit of Mt. Tamalpais, spread rapidly, it burned over the ridges of Frank's canyon and proceeded toward Mt. Tamalpais before being stopped'
It was believed by Gardner that the blaze was probably started from a hiker's campfire or a carelessly tossed cigaret." (Oakland Tribune)
April 14, 1930: "Thieves broke into the cabin of Hugo Legler, faithful fire lookout on Mt. Tamalpais, in an attempt to steal his telescoped, he reported today. They carried off some tools, but did not locate the instruments." (Petaluma Argus-Currier)
June 24, 1930: "After sitting on top of the world for nearly three decades. Hugo Legler has been ordered down.
And despite his years of faithful service and the many thousands of dollars he has saved the state, the aged fire lookout will receive no pension.
Since William Randolph Hearst built the lookout station on Tamalpais in 1902, Legler has occupied it. Now he is 72 years old; his ones are racked with rheumatism. Sadly he left his hut on the mountain top. Now he lives in Oakland.
Hundreds of fires were spotted by Legler since 1902.
Legler was one of the first to see the Graf Zeppelin complete her crossing of the Pacific. From his seat on the mountain peak he also viewed the recent eclipse of the sun." (Petaluma Argus-Courier)
June 27, 1930: "After 30 years of service on top of Mt. Tamalpais, where for the past 11 years he has been the lookout for the Mt. Tamalpais Forest Fire District, and prior to that time in the employ of the Weather Bureau, Hugo Legler, 72, has this week resigned his position on account of ill health. Suffering from rheumatism, Legler will go to Oakland to make his home with relatives.
Legler during his connection with the weather bureau lived on top of the mountain the year around. With the discontinuance of the weather station there, he became the lookout for the forest fire district and was on duty for eight months of each year.
Yandell Foote, 50, brother of Henry S. Foote, has been appointed to succeed Lehler." (San Anselmo Herald)
July 19, 1934: "The lookout which is maintained on Mt. Tamalpais by the Marin Municipal Water District, jointly with the Tamalpais Forest Fire District, is one of the greatest safeguards against the spread of forest and grass fires. This lookout, Mr. Henry Long, from his station on top of the mountain, is constantly scanning the entire district for the first sign of smoke or fire. The county lies under his high perch like a topographical map, and no section escapes his ever watchful eye.
During the month of June the lookout on Tamalpais reported 47 fires. In every case the fire fighting organizations of the county were notified and responded so promptly that practically no property damage resulted." (San Anselmo Herald)
September 19, 1935: "Civic and fraternal organizations of Marin county will be invited to aid in the dedication ceremonies of the new fire lookout tower which is to be named in honor of the late Fire Warden Ed Gardner.
The decision to pay permanent respect to the veteran fire official was reached after the Tamalpais Forest Fire District, the Marin County Association of Fire Departments, Marin County supervisors and the Marin Municipal Water District had all passed resolutions to that effect.
The new structure now being built by the CCC will replace the wooden building which has long been used by the fire lookout. The new tower is designed as a more comfortable structure and is being built of field stone from the ridges of the mountain." (San Anselmo Herald)
The decision to pay permanent respect to the veteran fire official was reached after the Tamalpais Forest Fire District, the Marin County Association of Fire Departments, Marin County supervisors and the Marin Municipal Water District had all passed resolutions to that effect.
The new structure now being built by the CCC will replace the wooden building which has long been used by the fire lookout. The new tower is designed as a more comfortable structure and is being built of field stone from the ridges of the mountain." (San Anselmo Herald)
April 23, 1936: "Construction on the Ed Gardner Memorial lookout tower on top of Mt. Tamalpais is reported two-thirds completed with steel work in, the natural rock base finished and flooring laid.
The heavy rains of last winter delayed much of the construction and the dedication ceremonies planned for this month were postponed until the structure is finished.
Meantime, the old lookout has been set to one side, and Hank Long, the ranger, is on duty twenty-four hours a day." (San Anselmo Herald)
July 30, 1936: "The Civilian Conservation Corps have completed the new Look out Tower on Mount Tamalpais and the fire look-out man has moved his new quarters." (San Anselmo Herald)
April 15, 1937: "The chiefs of the Marin County Association of Fire Departments have recommended that the Gardner lookout dedication ceremony shall be held Sunday morning, May 9 at 10 o'clock on the summit of Mt. Tamalpais.
Plans for the ceremony will be perfected at a meeting of the association to be held in Corte Madera, April 16---Friday night. The next chief's meeting will be held in the Mill Valley fire house May 5." (San Anselmo Herald)
January 22, 1940: "The fire fighting forces of Marin county lost an efficient member and beloved comrade Saturday morning, when Henry A. Long, 57, lookout at Mt. Tamalpais for the past six years, died at his Corte Madera home from heart trouble. Long became seriously ill Friday evening and the resuscitator crew from Larkspur was summoned to revive him. He rallied and spoke to friends, but Saturday morning became weaker and succumbed at 6:00 o'clock.
Staying at his post 24 hours a day atop Mt. Tamalpais during the long fire season, Long became known among newsmen and fellow firemen as the man who never slept; for whether a small grass fire or blazing structure, Long invariably spotted a blaze if it was within the vista of the fire district lookout." (Petaluma Argus-Courier)
May 2, 1940: "Fred Petri, fire warden of the Mill Valley area, has been appointed lookout atop Mt. Tamalpais by Chief Fire Warden Edwin F. Gardner, Tamalpais Forest Fire District. He succeeds the late Henry Long of Corte Madera, who died in January. Donald Pederson will assume the duties of Mill Valley district warden, succeeding Petri." (San Anselmo Herald)
October 24, 1940: "Not everyone knows that Fred Petri of Kentfield is the summer fire look-out on Mt. Tamalpais." (San Anselmo Herald)
May 16, 1941: "Let the rest of Marin county get the jitters because it has no fire district set-up. but A.R. Wessell, from the lookout on Mt Tamalpais, keeps a sharp eye trained to spot any fires. Considering the five-feet-plus of rain that has fallen upon Marin this year, fire is not an urgent hazard, but Wessell is busy just the same.
There are the temperature, the wind gauges, the pressures, and the 57 varieties of clouds to be recorded. These are supplied to the weather bureau at Oakland as a service to farmers, aviators, and those who like to catch the weatherman up on a miscalculation." (Mill Valley Record)
December 16, 1943: "The aerometer at the look-out station a-top Mt. Tamalpais went out of commission after the wind velocity reached 80 miles an hour, during the storm the latter part of last week." (San Anselmo Herald)
August 17, 1944: "Lloyd De La Montanya, county fire warden asked the Supervisors to consult with James Peters, head of the Marin Municipal in regard to building a road on the northwest side of Mt. Tamalpais, to make the lookout station more accessible.
The station was built by CCC help, De La Montanya said and is on Water Department property. The road should be about 150 feet long and could be constructed with the use of a bulldozer in three days at a cost of approximately $150, he estimated." (San Anselmo Herald)
July 26, 1945: "Harry Steinberg, fire lookout atop Mt. Tamalpais, was able to snap good pictures of a battle between a bull snake and a rattlesnake near his tower. The bull snake won and dragged the rattler off into the brush." (San Anselmo Herald)
September 5, 1946: "The lookout atop Mt. Tamalpais spotted a San Anselmo fire Sunday afternoon that was most difficult to locate close at hand. As a result, two San Anselmo fire trucks and one from the county department went 'round and 'round before they located the burning tool house at 98 Del Norte ave., in the Barber tract. About half and acre of grass burned. Nobody was at home at the time. The damage was small." (San Anselmo Herald)
September 19, 1950: (Ten Years Ago) "Interesting new task was undertaken by Fred Petri Tamalpais Forest Fire District Warden in Gardner Lookout atop Mt. Tamalpais. In addition to scanning Marin countryside for possible fires. Petri has taken weather readings four times a day for the airport weather station in Oakland." (Daily Independent Journal)
November 26, 1951: "Christmas cheer--in the form of a bright red, green, yellow, and other colored lights--may twinkle from the summit of Mt. Tamalpais during the holiday season.
Fire Chief Charles R. Reilley asked the supervisors today to authorize the lighting of the county fire department's Gardner lookout atop the east peak.
The chief was quoted by Supervisor James V. Kehoe of Iverness, fire committee chairman, as saying he believes the lights could be seen from many parts of Marin county.
Cost, said Reilley, was estimated at $100.
The supervisors questioned the visibility, but instructed the fire committee to investigate the project." (Daily Independent Journal)
November 20, 1952: "Mt. Tamalpais Lookout Harry Steinburg has been transferred from the lookout station on the mountain top and will be relief warden on Throckmarton ridge, west of Mill Valley.
Steinburg will not return to Mt. Tam until the fire season resumes in spring. He will spend a portion of his time with the county fire department at Woodacre." (Mill Valley Record)