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Most, out west anyway. But that does take firearm use into another level of risk. Legal big game seasons usually don't match up with fire tower ops seasons :).

No firearms, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts not many searches for such have ever been done, unless the watchman was flaunting it unwisely.

Yup...those sites belong to the public, and are open to them. After nightfall, there is some discretion allowed to the fire watchman (lots have been staffed by women, both historically and in current times, btw). It is their home, after all.

I have seen that too, but not near as often...only once or twice that I recall. Maybe because many firetower bunks are built in, so it doesn't do any good. Some are steel framed too, or have steel spring sets...all counter productive in conductivity isolation terms :|:.

I've done it just once, and not a bad one either...but it took my breath away.

Every firetower I have been in, every single one, has as part of it's normal furniture a tall wooden stool or two with old glass telephone wire insulators set upside down on the bottoms of all four legs. When the lightning gets to popping nearby, the lookout always weathers the storm perched on...

Tis, indeed. I think I might have a few pics from some of my lookout tower work...I'll see if I can find any worth posting.

Another one on the Mt. Hood I did significant work on, still active, some nice pics here...

My all-time favorite...rode pack string into this one as a newbie FS backcountry guard in the late '70's and early '80's, to outfit for season opening. A beauty. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=bull-of-the-woods+lookout+tower

One of my favorites on the Mt. Hood NF, the old structure was removed and replaced with a new generation tower in 1996...I did a lot of the final infrastructure work on this one, all that required rope access. Sorry, embed is disabled. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRu19aCDGgQ...

A little propane stove up top to make it fresh...duh!! :D

Very cool info, Gary. I'm going to peruse these at my leisure and will enjoy, no doubt.

Yes, that cab is tiny compared to what I'm used to.

You bet it would. Good thought. I never worked on one without an outside walkway...that lack surely increases the difficulties a fair bit.

Oh boy Gary, I worked on more than a few fire lookouts in my time with the USFS, as a climber/rigger. Really cool gigs, every time, probably because they are always situated in very impressive viewpoint sites...at least out here in the west. Anyway...some had really well designed and sturdy...