BRITISH COLUMBIA LOOKOUTS
LITTLE MOUNTAIN ERRINGTON
Nanaimo
March 13, 1941: "Again examination of the forest lookouts, after being closed for the winter, reveals the usual story of damage. Little Mountain lookout in the Parksville area, and approached by the Bel;levue road, is now the scene of erection of a cabin for the lookout man, who has hitherto lived in a tent at the foot of the lookout tower during the summer season.
During the winter, Forest Supervisor J. A. Pedley reports some one has climbed the steel tower, and done considerable damage, both to the windows of the look-out and to insulators. The vandals evidently took a considerable risk, and it is possible the windows were broken from below by bullets fired at close range.
This look-out overlooks a wide range of territory, and while not at the same altitude as other similar towers, fills an important service to the department." (Nanaimo Daily News)
During the winter, Forest Supervisor J. A. Pedley reports some one has climbed the steel tower, and done considerable damage, both to the windows of the look-out and to insulators. The vandals evidently took a considerable risk, and it is possible the windows were broken from below by bullets fired at close range.
This look-out overlooks a wide range of territory, and while not at the same altitude as other similar towers, fills an important service to the department." (Nanaimo Daily News)
June 3, 1947: "Milton Erickson, Vancouver, has been appointed lookout man at the B.C. Forest Service tower on Little Mountain." (The Daily Colonist)
October 13, 1949: "Two smart new lookout stations are headquarters for forest rangers guarding timber lands in the Parksville district.
Both buildings were prefabricated in Vancouver, and were erected duriing the summer.
One of the new stations replaces an old lookout cabin on Little Mountain, three miles from Parksville, off the Alberni highway.
The old cabin was set 85 feet off the ground, but high winds made instruments in accurate. The new lookout is 40 feet from the ground." (The Daily Colonist)
October 1949: "Paul Neil found time in between running suppression crew camps this summer to cut forty feet off the top of the eighty foot steel tower on Little Mountain Lookout." (Forest Service Newsletter)
July 29, 1950: "Little Mountain lookout tower has gone completely modern.
Last year, the tower was reduced from 90 feet to 40 feet in height, and a lookout cabin eight feet square and surrounded by a catwalk two feet wide, replaced the old octagonal cabin which had been a landmark since it was built in 1934.
This year, up-to-date instruments have been installed to aid the lookout man in determining the fire hazard in the surrounding forests.
An anemometer, for measuring wind velocity, a hygrometer for determining the humidity, an indicator scale for weighing the fuel moisture sticks and a radio transmitting and receiving set, all combine to enable the lookout man to do a more efficient job.
Early in the summer, Roy Flanagan of the British Columbia Forest Service, working from the Victoria office and assisted by Alan Schutz, made a comprehensive photographic survey of the surrounding terrain from the lookout tower. The photographs will be used later as an aid to fire detection.
Duties of the lookout man include making hourly humidity tests, using a bulb thermometer and special fuel moisture sticks. If the test reveals less than 30 per cent humidity, the forest is ordered closed to the public and all logging operations are suspended.
Prevention of forest fires, through education of the general public, and training of junior forest wardens, quick detection by the lookout man and prompt action by the local suppression crew, have shown success in the area. Many fires have occurred that could have become major outbreaks had they not been quickly detected and extinguished.
Another project on Little Mountain is the installation, by the B.C. Telephone Company, of a radio-telephone station. This will provide four additional long-distance circuits from Vancouver, relieving congestion at the Parksville office.
Recently W. Yeo of Parksville bulldozed a roadway to enable the telephone company to take construction supplies to the summit of Little Mountain. It is expected that the new station will be in operation in about two months." (The Daily Colonist)