Oldest fire lookout tower in Southern California mountains is destroyed by massive Line Fire

SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST (KABC) -- For nearly a century, volunteers have manned the lookout tower on Keller Peak in the San Bernardino mountains watching out for any sign of smoke.

But not anymore. The Southern California Mountains Foundation has confirmed that the tower was destroyed during the Line Fire last week.

Only the steel supports remain; the rest of the structure is gone.

"It's a really heart wrenching thing," said lookout manager Shane Harris. "Because there aren't a lot of fire towers left in the country compared to what they used to be.

"It's always sad when we lose one."

Firefighters are making progress in battling the Line Fire in San Bernardino County, which has charred more than 38,000 acres and forced evacuations.

Harris said the Keller Peak fire lookout tower was built in 1926 about two miles east of Running Springs, at 7,882 feet above sea level.

"It's also one of the few examples of a tower that was built in California before the Great Depression," he said. "We were making preparations for her 100th anniversary in a couple years, so sadly she didn't make that."

The Keller Peak tower was one of four in the San Bernardino Mountains; the others include Morton Peak east of Mentone, Strawberry Peak near Twin Peaks and Rimforest, and Butler Peak between Green Valley Lake and Fawnskin.

While some might argue these structures are no longer needed given advances in fire detection technology, Harris said he couldn't disagree more.

"(Technology) has still got a long way to go before it will beat a trained human with a good pair of eyes and pair of binoculars who knows what they're looking at for certain," he said.

So far this year, Harris said, volunteers on the Keller Peak tower have been responsible for spotting nine fire starts and had plotted 18 separate lightning strikes.

He said it will ultimately be up to the U.S. Forest Service as to whether the tower gets rebuilt: "I think the chances are good. Ultimately it is the Forest Service's decision, but the Southern California Mountains Foundation will be at the forefront of any rebuilding project in the future."