RAVALLI COUNTY

BARE CONE

Bitterroot National Forest
1S-23W-26
1922:   The first lookout structure  built at this site was a two-story log building.  (Kresek)

1930's:   A ten foot native timber tower with an L-4 observation cab erected.  (Kresek)

June 13, 1962:   "Bare Cone:  Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Allen, Helena.  Mr. Allen teaches school at Helena.  He worked at the West Fork district last year."   (Ravalli Republic)

July 3, 1962:   "According to Wes Conner, forest service engineer, a road will be built to Bear Cone lookout on the West Fork this summer, and the lookout tower will be replaced this fall with a new structure."   (Ravalli Republic)

November 1, 1962:   "A new lookout has been completed on Bare Cone Mountain in the Bitter Root National Forest announced Donald Fandry, West Fork District Ranger.  Construction of the new structure was completed in record time by carpenters Larry Hill and Perry Hannon.
      The lookout building has a concrete block foundation.  The lower story will house the radio, supplies and miscellaneous equipment.  On top of the foundation, about ten feet from the ground, is a room 15 feet square which will serve as living and working quarters for the fire watchers.  The walls are windows on all sides giving clear visibility in all directions.  A cat walk runs around the edge of the building for completely unobstructed vision from this high point which overlooks much of the West Fork District.
      Before the lookout was built, a road was constructed from the end of the Blue Joint-Took Creek road to the top of Bare Cone.  This made it possible to haul materials right to the job by truck.  Road construction was begun early August by the Forest road crew with Clen Wright as foreman.
      Stan Greenup, fire control officer for the district and in charge of the Bare Cone project, considers the new road the best to ant lookout on the forest.  It follows an easy grade all the way to the top.  It should prove to be a popular road for sightseers as one gets a magnificent view of the beautiful West Fork country including all the vast Blue Joint drainage and the Nez Perce fork of the West Fork.  The road has had much hunter use this fall.
      The road will help to man the lookout early and late in the season as conditions demand.  It will also make it easier to maintain the lookout and those who will serve on it as fire detectors.
      Ranger Fandry said the new Bare Cone structure is similar to those completed in recent years on such other forest locations as Deer Mountain, Sula Peak, Hells Half Acre, and Elkhorn Point.  It is one more step forward to modernization of the Bitter Root National Forest facilities to do a better job of fire detection and suppression."   (Ravalli Republic)

June 21, 1963:   "Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Stauber of Pocatello, Idaho, will man Bare Cone Lookout.  He has attended Idaho State College and will transfer to the School of Forestry, Montana State University, next fall.  He has worked two seasons on the Targhee National Forest."   (Ravalli Republic)

July 3, 1969:   "Bessie Sopher of Hamilton will return to Bare Cone for her sixth consecutive year on this lookout.  This is her 19th summer on a lookout."   (Ravalli Republic)

July 7, 1971:   "When the Bitter Root Forest starts fighting fires this summer, a familiar face will be missing.
      Bessie Sopher, a rarity of a woman who served as a lookout for many years, won't be at her familiar Bare Cone Lookout spot in the West Fork.  Instead, a young woman, Diane Nousanen of Hamilton, will be at Bare Cone.
      Mrs. Sopher suffered a heart attack this spring.  After being hospitalized for some time, she is now home and in fair condition.  But she no longer can be active as a fire spotter."   (Ravalli Republic)

September 10, 1971:   "Diane Nousanen left Wednesday, traveling by car through Canada, to Caribou, Maine, where she will be a teacher of blind students.
      Diane received her master's degree in special education from Temple University in Philadelphia in May.  She returned to Hamilton in June to visit her parents before assuming her job as a lookout for the U.S. Forest Service at Bare Cone on the West Fork district."   (Ravalli Republic)

June 27, 1975:   "About $350 to $400 in items was stolen from the Bare Cone Lookout in the Blue Joint area of the West Fork, according to a report given to the sheriff's office.
      Forced entry was made into the lookout sometime during the past week.  Taken were  pots, pans, dishes, silverware, a Coleman stove, sleeping bags, a fire pack and tools.
      Investigation into the theft is continuing."   (Ravalli Republic)

August 25, 2013:  On or about this date the lookout was wrapped in fire resistant foil as a precaution against the advancement of the Gold Pan Complex Fire.