LEWIS & CLARK COUNTY
SILVER KING MOUNTAIN
Helena National Forest
16N-7W-30
16N-7W-30
July 26, 1939: Points for which a need is shown include Silver King mountain in Landers fork. (The Sanders County Independent)
November 16, 1941: "It was b'ar trouble that made the forest fires burn so brightly in the Silver King country.
Clovis Jauroon, fire lookout, took supplies for two days when he went to extinguish a blaze. Jauron hadn't gone far when he met a mother bear with two cubs and a grouch. She 'woofed' the fireman up a tree; then sat under it for half a day while the timber blazed.
When finally she rejoined her cubs Jauron extinguished one blaze but found two more. Four days later, foresters found him staggering back to his post out of grub and almost exhausted, but with all fires under control." (Valley Star Monitor Herald - Texas)
Clovis Jauroon, fire lookout, took supplies for two days when he went to extinguish a blaze. Jauron hadn't gone far when he met a mother bear with two cubs and a grouch. She 'woofed' the fireman up a tree; then sat under it for half a day while the timber blazed.
When finally she rejoined her cubs Jauron extinguished one blaze but found two more. Four days later, foresters found him staggering back to his post out of grub and almost exhausted, but with all fires under control." (Valley Star Monitor Herald - Texas)
July 10, 1948: "Because of difficulty in packing supplies to back-country lookouts, aerial detection of forest fires in some cases has proven more economical than keeping men in lookout towers, the Supervisor said. The plane contracted this year will replace the lookout formerly placed on Silver King." (Independent Record)
September 4, 1958: "The three-day ride, which was held by 20 members of the association, included a ride along Copper creek the first day. On the second day, the group rode to Parker lake, returning via Lone Mountain trail. On the third day, they rode to the Silver King lookout. From an elevation of 7,500 feet, the group could see the smokestack on Smelter Hill, near Great Falls, without aid of glasses.
The wind was blowing at the rate of 68 miles an hour at the lookout. They were told the wind blows continuously and never less than 15 miles an hour atop Silver King." (Independent Record)
August 28, 2003: "One casualty of the Snow-Talon fire is the historic Silver King lookout, which was built in the 1930's. It was lost on Wednesday of last week." (Blackfoot Valley Dispatch)
DESIGNATION - SILVER KING
PID - RX0976
STATE/COUNTY- MT/GRANITE
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - HARVEY POINT (1989)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1960 (OSR)
THE STATION IS THE TOP-CENTER OF THE LOOKOUT TOWER. IT IS
LOCATED IN THE HELENA NATIONAL FOREST, 11 MILES NORTH AND
7 MILES EAST OF LINCOLN, 3-1/4 MILES WEST AND 1-3/4 MILES
SOUTH OF ALICE CREEK RANGER STATION AND IS NEAR THE CENTER
BETWEEN SECTIONS 29 AND 30, R 7 W, T 16 N.
THE LOOKOUT IS CONSTRUCTED OF WOOD, SUPPORTED BY FOUR POLE
LEGS, PAINTED WHITE AND IS APPROXIMATELY 14 X 14 FEET SQUARE.
ITS HEIGHT, OVERALL, IS APPROXIMATELY 25 FEET.