- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Ute Mountain Fire Lookout Tower to be renovated
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585260/Ute-Mountain-Fire-Lookout-Tower-to-be-renovated.html
FLAMING GORGE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA — The only standing fire lookout in Utah soon will receive a significant facelift.
Ute Mountain Fire Lookout Tower, often called “Ute Tower,” will be repaired with a goal of opening for visitors to experience the view from a historic fire lookout tower.
Ute Tower is unique because it has a lookout cab that sits approximately 28 feet above the ground that serves as both an observation post and a living area. The Forest Service received funds to replace the tower legs and to repair the lookout cab.
Ute Tower was built in 1937. The U.S. Forest Service used the tower to spot fires until 1968 when aerial detection replaced the need for a fire lookout.
In 1969, the Forest Service discovered that the lower portions of its wooden legs were rotting and would need to be replaced. Funds were not available, so the tower was closed and left vacant throughout the 1970s.
In 1980, the Ute Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places to increase public awareness of the danger to the site. The Utah Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs provided volunteers, equipment and materials in 1982 and 1983 to remove the lower 4 feet of each tower leg and splice in new timber pieces with welded metal braces for support.
Volunteers and Forest Service employees repaired and replaced deteriorated boards, windows and roof shingles and painted the entire lookout. In 1987, the tower was rededicated during a grand ceremony and opened for public visitation.
In 2008, the Forest Service again tested the tower legs for structural integrity and found extreme rot and deterioration in both the 1982 replacement sections and in the original tower sections. The Forest Service immediately closed the lookout tower for safety reasons and it has remained closed for the past five years.
HistoriCorps, a volunteer-based organization that works to save historic places, is seeking volunteers for one-week tours through September. Volunteers interested in helping to repair the Ute Tower can register on the HistoricCorps website, historicorps.org/ute-mountain-lookout-tower, or contact volunteer coordinator Amy Eller at aeller@historicorps.org or 303-893-4260 ext 225. Ashley National Forest expects to open the Ute Tower for public visitation during the summer of 2014.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585260/Ute-Mountain-Fire-Lookout-Tower-to-be-renovated.html
FLAMING GORGE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA — The only standing fire lookout in Utah soon will receive a significant facelift.
Ute Mountain Fire Lookout Tower, often called “Ute Tower,” will be repaired with a goal of opening for visitors to experience the view from a historic fire lookout tower.
Ute Tower is unique because it has a lookout cab that sits approximately 28 feet above the ground that serves as both an observation post and a living area. The Forest Service received funds to replace the tower legs and to repair the lookout cab.
Ute Tower was built in 1937. The U.S. Forest Service used the tower to spot fires until 1968 when aerial detection replaced the need for a fire lookout.
In 1969, the Forest Service discovered that the lower portions of its wooden legs were rotting and would need to be replaced. Funds were not available, so the tower was closed and left vacant throughout the 1970s.
In 1980, the Ute Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places to increase public awareness of the danger to the site. The Utah Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs provided volunteers, equipment and materials in 1982 and 1983 to remove the lower 4 feet of each tower leg and splice in new timber pieces with welded metal braces for support.
Volunteers and Forest Service employees repaired and replaced deteriorated boards, windows and roof shingles and painted the entire lookout. In 1987, the tower was rededicated during a grand ceremony and opened for public visitation.
In 2008, the Forest Service again tested the tower legs for structural integrity and found extreme rot and deterioration in both the 1982 replacement sections and in the original tower sections. The Forest Service immediately closed the lookout tower for safety reasons and it has remained closed for the past five years.
HistoriCorps, a volunteer-based organization that works to save historic places, is seeking volunteers for one-week tours through September. Volunteers interested in helping to repair the Ute Tower can register on the HistoricCorps website, historicorps.org/ute-mountain-lookout-tower, or contact volunteer coordinator Amy Eller at aeller@historicorps.org or 303-893-4260 ext 225. Ashley National Forest expects to open the Ute Tower for public visitation during the summer of 2014.
