BRITISH COLUMBIA LOOKOUTS
MOUNT CHEAM
Chilliwack District
October 6, 1915: "As a means of saving timber in the Fraser Valley from destructive bush fires, a lookout station will be established this winter at Pierce Mountain, better known as Cheam Peak, thirteen miles east of Chillwack. This is the highest point in the district, and from it a look-out man may keep watch over the country as far east as Hope and south to the international boundary line. It is proposed to erect a telephone line to this point so that a watcher may be connected with the fire rangers. Should fire break out anywhere in this district the rangers will be at once notified, and the fire promptly put out.
The idea was suggested by Mr. R.H. Campbell, chief of the Dominion forestry branch, who stated that it was used extensively in Europe, and had been the means of saving hundreds of thousands of dollar's worth of timber. The local officials already had the scheme in mind, and are now proceeding to carry it out. Chief Dominion Fires Ranger Selkirk has gone to Cheam Peak to select a suitable location for the look-out tower. During the winter a right-of-way for the telephone line will be cleared to the peak, and the necessary buildings erected ready for use next summer. The same idea will be adopted elsewhere in the province, where the conformation of the land permits." (The Province)
The idea was suggested by Mr. R.H. Campbell, chief of the Dominion forestry branch, who stated that it was used extensively in Europe, and had been the means of saving hundreds of thousands of dollar's worth of timber. The local officials already had the scheme in mind, and are now proceeding to carry it out. Chief Dominion Fires Ranger Selkirk has gone to Cheam Peak to select a suitable location for the look-out tower. During the winter a right-of-way for the telephone line will be cleared to the peak, and the necessary buildings erected ready for use next summer. The same idea will be adopted elsewhere in the province, where the conformation of the land permits." (The Province)
October 1916: "The lookout established on Mount Cheam, Chilliwack district, had proven a complete success, and from that point all the timber areas of the valley are under observation, while on clear days the observer's view reaches to the Gulf of Georgia." (The Timberman)