TABLE ROCK
Baker County - Wallowa-Whitman National Forest - 14S-36E-20
1920's: A D-6 cupola style lookout house built.
1936: A L-4 ground cabin was constructed.
August 24, 1939: "Mr. and Mrs. Roy Weikal are stationed on Table Rock. This is a new lookout-fireman station and the first season this point has been manned." (The Record-Courier)
1939: This lookout received a special sending and receiving radio this year.
September 16, 1947: "New lookout house to be constructed at Table Rock." (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
1949: The new lookout house was completed.
September 6, 1962: "The lookouts in the Unity area are no longer manned by the summer personnel. Lou Maher, who has been at Table Rock, has gone into the service. Replaced by Gary Squires." (The Record-Courier)
July 10, 1969: "Craig Dammarell, Wala Walla, a student at the University of Washington." (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
June 24, 1997: "The U.S. Forest Service is offering a reward up to $1,000 for the recovery of 10 solar panels and the arrest of the people who stole them earlier this month from the Table Rock fire lookout south of Unity.
The thieves also took two solar panels and a regulator the Baker County Sheriff's Office owns.
Forest Service employees discovered the theft June 18 while preparing to open the lookout for the season, said John Denne, public affairs officer for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
Officials believe the panels were taken between June 12 and June 17, Denne said. Their estimate is based on the power level of the batteries the solar panels charge; had the panel been removed more than a week before June 18, the batteries would have been dead, he said.
The Forest Service's panels are worth $5,000. The agency has replacement panels, Denne said.
The sheriff's office didn't have an estimated value for its two panels and regulator.
The loss of the panels temporarily affected the Forest Service's communications systems, Denne said. There is a radio repeater on Table Rock.
Each panel measures about 1 1/2 feet by 4 feet. The panels are silver-blue and have aluminum frames.
Table Rock lookout is at an elevation of 7,826 feet. A fire lookout usually is stationed there from late June through the end of fire season." (Baker City Herald)
July 14, 2002: The lookout was evacuated due to the extreme behavior of a fire earlier reported by the observer.
August 22, 2016: A news release stated that the lookout was wrapped in protective foil, thus saving the structure from being destroyed by the flames. An old outhouse near the lookout was lost to the fire, however, the outhouse located near the parking area was saved.
DESIGNATION - TABLE LOOKOUT HOUSE
PID - QC0900
STATE/COUNTY- OR/BAKER
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - BULLRUN ROCK (1983)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 1968 (FLA)
LOCATED ABOUT 9.5 MI. SW. OF UNITY. ABOUT 2 MI. NE. OF ELK FLAT
CREEK. ON TOP OF TABLE MOUNTAIN.
TO REACH FROM SENECA AT THE JUNCTION OF U.S. HIGHWAY 395 AND USFS
RD. 162, TURN RIGHT ON USFS 162 AND DRIVE IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION
FOR 46.2 MI. TO FOPIAN CAMPGROUND. CONTINUE ON USFS 162 FOR 2.8
MI. TO A JUNCTION WITH USFS 1434. TURN LEFT ON USFS 1434 AND
CONTINUE FOR 11.4 MI. TO USFS 1434 A. TURN LEFT ON USFS 1434 A
AND DRIVE FOR ABOUT 0.5 MI. TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AND TO
THE STATION SITE.
STATION MARK--A STANDARD USGS TRIANGULATION TABLET STAMPED TABLE
2 1968 SET IN THE ROCK OUTCROP.
REFERENCE MARK NO. 1--A STANDARD USGS REFERENCE MARK TABLET
STAMPED NO 1 1968 SET IN THE ROCK OUTCROP AND 1 FT. ABOVE THE
STATION MARK.
REFERENCE MARK NO. 2--A STANDARD USGS REFERENCE MARK TABLET
STAMPED NO 2 1968 SET IN THE ROCK OUTCROP FROM AND 2.2 FT. BELOW
THE STATION MARK.
TABLE MOUNTAIN LOH--A STANDARD USFS LOOKOUT HOUSE WITH ROOF
POINTED FROM ALL SIDES OF THE BUILDING, THE CENTER OF WHICH LIES
ABOUT 200 FT. FROM THE STATION MARK.
NOTE--THE LOH HAS BEEN INTERSECTED FROM ADJACENT STATIONS.