B.C.’s wildfire history is being preserved and a high-elevation adventure opportunity is being improved through the restoration of Buchanan Lookout, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson announced as part of National Forest Week.

Substantial exterior/interior restoration work and upgrades to the structure are now complete. Work included rebuilding the lookout to current safety standards, and replacing dated and damaged interpretative signs with re-designed, more informative displays.

The second floor of the restored lookout has been set up as a diorama that represents a functional wildfire lookout from the 1950s and ‘60s. The interior of the lookout is closed to the public, but can be viewed from the outside catwalk through windows on all sides of the building.

Many old, authentic living quarter items, photographs and lookout tools (including a fully functional Osborne Fire Finder) were donated by the ministry as well as by individuals, families and community archives.

The self-guided interpretative signs describe: aspects of forest fire detection in the early days; what it was like to live and work in a fire lookout; a chronology of Buchanan Lookout; tools of the firefighting trade; and the evolution of wildfire management in B.C.

In addition to the structure’s heritage significance, the Buchanan Lookout Recreation Site offers the two-kilometre Buchanan Viewpoint Trail, a wheelchair-accessible toilet, and two small campsites with picnic tables and fire rings for overnight stays. Four directional panoramic signs along the trail identify significant local landmarks such as mountain peaks, glaciers and major drainages.

Recreation Sites and Trails BC contributed more than $100,000 to the project, and is negotiating with local partners to maintain the lookout through a partnership agreement to provide public recreation and historic education. The Columbia Basin Trust provided a $10,000 grant. Other project volunteers include the Village of Kaslo, the Kaslo Community Forest, the Trailblazers Society and many individuals.

Located at 1,912 metres on Mount Buchanan in the Kokanee Range of the Selkirk Mountains near Kaslo, the structure has spectacular unobstructed views of Kootenay Lake, Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, Goat Range Provincial Park and the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy.

This week is National Forest Week, Sept. 21-27. Fire lookouts have been a part of the province's history for decades and more recently have become important recreational assets for residents and tourists. Restoring some of these assets will ensure recreation users have the opportunity to continue enjoying B.C.'s forests and natural spaces.

(flickr.com)

Quote:

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson -

“Former fire lookouts represent a tremendous recreational and historical resource that is worthy of preservation. These projects also create local jobs and support the economy by drawing more visitors and tourists to our smaller communities.”

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Quick Facts:

• There are more than 300 fire lookout locations in B.C. Of those, the Wildfire Management Branch considers 25 active on an “as and when” needed basis,
• Lookouts offer incredible world-class vistas and views and may also be used as weather stations and communications sites.
• Lookouts provide year-round recreation/tourism opportunities with hiking and ATV use during the summer, and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling use in the winter.

(flickr.com)

Learn More:

• Buchanan Lookout photos from BC Gov Photos at Flickr: http://ow.ly/BWsBs
• Recreation Sites and Trails BC’s Buchanan Lookout web page, including more photos: http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?site=REC2105&type=Site
• Buchanan Fire Lookout Recreation Site Visitors Map and Guide: http://www.recsiteimages.tca.gov.bc.ca/REC2105/sitemaps/Buchanan%20Forest%20Fire%20Lookout%20Brochure%20web%20rgb.pdf
• National Forest Week: http://www.abcfp.ca/about_us/events/national_forest_week.asp

(flickr.com)

Media Contacts:

Greig Bethel
Media Relations
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 356-5261

(flickr.com)

BACKGROUNDER Buchanan Lookout

• Originally built in the early 1940s, Buchanan Lookout was no more than a braced-pole tower with a viewing platform.
• Improvements were made in 1949 when a pre-fabricated wooden tower was installed with a standard 14 foot-by-14 foot gable-roof cabin and perimeter catwalk. The tower and cabin were transported up the mountain by packhorses.
• A 12-kilometre road to the lookout was completed in 1959, allowing for vehicle access. In 1965, the wooden structure was replaced with an 18-foot concrete block tower and remained operational until 1982.
• Since then, Buchanan Lookout has been a popular destination for sightseers, hikers, mountain bikers, snowmobilers and astronomers. It is one of only a few high-elevation sites in the province that can be reached by two-wheel-drive vehicles.
• In 1986, the existing lookout structure was officially established as a provincial recreation site and, in the early 1990s, the tower was rebuilt, a new metal catwalk and exterior stairs were added, an interior interpretative display was installed, and the two-kilometre hiking loop trail was constructed.
• By 2002, the lookout tower had degraded to the point where it had to be closed for public safety reasons. A full restoration of the exterior was completed in 2012, and new interpretive kiosks and signs were installed inside during fall 2013.
• Both Buchanan Mountain and Lookout were named after a local pioneer lumberman from the 1890s, George Owen Buchanan, who was quoted as once saying: “Our civilization is built on wood; it surrounds us from the cradle to the grave.”
• In 1998, Buchanan Lookout became the first in B.C. (and one of eight in Canada) to be recognized by the U.S.-based National Historic Lookout Register: http://www.nhlr.org/lookouts/Lookout.aspx?id=1037
• The lookout is located in the Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir biogeoclimatic zone, characterized by mountainous terrain and steep valleys: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/bro/bro55.pdf

(flickr.com)

Media Contacts:

Greig Bethel
Media Relations
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 356-5261

(flickr.com)