See These Amazing Images of Maine’s Beautiful & Historic Fire Towers Through the Years

Maine's Landscape

I don't have to tell you how amazing Maine's landscape is. Its bustling wilderness, wild waters, and mountainous terrain offer something for every level of outdoor enthusiast.

With Maine's outdoors being so vital to the stat's environmental and economic impact, it's extremely important for quick and reasoned responses to any sudden issue. One of those sudden issues is the threat of forest or wildfires.

Protecting Maine's Wildness

While helicopters, airplanes, high-tech communication equipment, and other modern amenities are now the norm, this wasn't always the case. And, in a state that's about 99.99999% remote, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to deal with in earlier times.

Thus, the fire tower was the true first responder for decades in Maine and across the nation. Towers and camps would be built all over the state, making sure there were plenty of panoramic views to catch any quiet spark before it became a fiery Armageddon.

Maine Fire Towers

According to firelookout.org, Maine had a total of 144 fire towers. Currently, two of those are still in active use; one is on Ossipee Hill and the other on Mount Hope. Amazingly, 55 towers still stand in their place, even though they were abandoned decades earlier.

As an avid hiker, I've had the pleasure to run into a few of these older structures. They are always a sight to see, and a reminder of the courageous men, women, and families that dedicated good portions of their lives to make sure Maine remained safe and fruitful.

Below is a mix of these fire towers though the years. I highly suggest giving Forest Fire Lookout Association Maine Chapter on Facebook. The organization has a wealth of photos and history on these unique structures and the folks who manned them.