DATE: January 31, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Laurel C. Prysiazny, County Librarian
Penny Raven, Chair, Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission
SUBJECT: Historic Place - Mount Tom Fire Lookout
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve designation and placement of Mount Tom Fire Lookout on the County's Register of Historic Places; and
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute the certificate for a Historic Place.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with these actions, which will allow the Mount Tom Fire Lookout to be placed on the County's List of Historic Places. The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission recommend historic and prehistoric sites and structures to be listed on the Fresno County's List of Historic Places. Approval by the Board of Supervisors encourages preservation of the County's history.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose to not approve these actions, which would result in Mount Tom Fire Lookout not being placed on the County's Register of Historic Places at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions.
DISCUSSION:
The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission, with the support of Dean Gould, Forest Supervisor, USDA, Forest Service, recommends your Board approve the application to add the Mount Tom Fire Lookout to the County's List of Historic Places.
The devastating Daulton Fire in 1939 destroyed 18,000 acres and demonstrated the need for a "back country" lookout. Mount Tom Fire Lookout was completed by 1940 and contains a 14' by 14' wooden cab station with a catwalk atop a 30-32' K-braced steel tower. The cab is accessed via a straight stairway along one side of the tower; an unusual feature for fire lookout towers. The Lookout is estimated to be one of the last built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in California.
The Mount Tom Fire Lookout is located in the Sierra National Forest, High Sierra Ran...
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