LAKE COUNTY
DRAKES PEAK
Fremont National Forest
38S-22E-05
38S-22E-05
1912: " Bull Prairie had no cabin so that meant another summer in my 7x9 tent. Nor was there a pasture fence and that meant many hours looking for strayed horse. Bull Prairie and Drakes peak had no telephone connections.
My main job that summer was to ride each day to the top of Drakes Peak and look for fires. No fires were sighted and I had no calls for fire-fighting work." (Fremont History Walt Dutton November 13, 1962)
My main job that summer was to ride each day to the top of Drakes Peak and look for fires. No fires were sighted and I had no calls for fire-fighting work." (Fremont History Walt Dutton November 13, 1962)
1915: " June 3 Later on fire finding instruments will be placed on Deadhorse Rim and Drakes Peak." (No source noted, on file at the Lake County Museum)
1925: " In the summer of 1925 I accepted my first assignment for the forest service on the Fremont National Forest in Southern Oregon. My position was to be a lookout on Drake’s Peak. My living quarters were at Bull’s Prairie Guard Station which was a little log cabin without running water or anything else in the way of amenities and was located some three miles from the top of Drake’s Peak. Each morning I was instructed to go from the guard station to the summit early in the morning so I could make my first report of any fires that developed during the night. Our means of communication was one wire ground telephone system which connected me with the dispatcher’s office. There was a telephone at the guard station and also one at the lookout. Drake’s Peak did not have a standard lookout dwelling, merely a shelter with a fire-finder and glassed in walls around it so that I had pretty good visibility and from there I made my report.
The Forest Service had an old motorcycle that refused to run and by a little tinkering, I was able to get it running for my transportation. I used it very little because word got around that it was running and in usable shape, some of the older people on the forest decided that they had more important work for the motorcycle. I had to hike up this three miles involving several thousand feet in elevation and come down again at night. I got so hardened into the travel that I was practically able to jog up the trail each day." (From an unidentified and unnamed document.)
May 22, 1928: " A road to the summit was constructed in the fall (1927). The road is of standard forest construction, with a nine foot wide surface, easy turns, and no grade over ten percent. Which can be easily negotiated in the average car. Good brakes are essential and the use of low gear coming down hill are advisable."
(Lake County Examiner)
June 5, 1928: " William Thorpe, who has been stationed on Cougar Peak, will be the lookout on this station (Drake) during the coming fire season." (Lake County Examiner)
June 5, 1928: "On June 5th, the work of constructing a new lookout house was begun by the Forest Service. A truck load of materials was sent to the summit. The house will be of the latest approved design with windows on all sides for observation and with ample room for the fire guard. The firefinding apparatus will be located on top of the building in the cupola.
Supervisor Gilbert D. Brown and Senior Ranger H.T. Phelps made a trip to the peak the day before in an automobile to learn whether or not materials could be taken to the top. They had to shovel through several drifts to obtain their goal." (Lake County Examiner)
June 21, 1928: " On June 20th two young men engaged by the Forest Service to repair telephone lines to the lookout, were involved in an accident at six o’clock when returning to town. The wishbone of their car broke loose rendering the car unmanageable and it left the road and rolled over three times. The accident happened a mile east of the junction with the Fremont highway on the Warner Canyon road.
Both men were thrown clear of the wreck and both sustained bruises, but neither was scratched sufficiently to draw blood. Milton Nolte was able to go back to work the next day, while Gail Reynolds being a little more bruised needed the day off." (Lake County Examiner)
June 1929: " With many sighs of regret, the Fremont mailed the panoramic camera to Portland a few days ago. The most interesting phase of the work was in finding the proper filter to use to bring out details of topography and to penetrate haze. Bailey secured his best pictures by using the Wratton (F) Red Filter. It is surprising to what an extent this filter will cut out smoke haze. All panoramas taken with red filter have proven good, even one from Drakes Peak Lookout when the smoke haze was so bad we had no hope of getting good results." (Six Twenty-Six)
June 28, 1934: " Drakes Peak received the deepest mantle of white as eight inches was reported as the average depth by the observer there." (Lake County Examiner)
August 10, 1944: " Kenny Koefoed, the lookout-fireman on Drakes Peak, fought the Little Drakes fire on July 19 and 20." (Lake County Examiner)
1948: The construction of an L-4 Aladdin lookout house completed at a total cost of $3451.47.
September 20, 1956: " Pat Lake, of Florence, Oregon, is shown at Drakes Peak lookout on the Warner District of the Fremont National Forest. Her job is to spot smoke from budding forest fires, locate them with a Osborne fire finder, and report them to the Lakeview Headquarters by phone or by radio. Miss Lake is a graduate in Physical Education, at Oklahoma State and last winter she was recreational director at the Phoenix, Arizona city park. Her job at the lookout is especially important now, with extra-dry conditions, increased number of hunters, and shortened fire crews by return of many to college." (Lake County Examiner)
1956: The air marking number for this station, F-18.
July 7, 1959: " Nelson and Patricia Higgs. Nelson B. Higgs of Eugene is completing a thesis in Nevada for his doctor’s degree in Geology. He took up his duties on Drakes Peak Lookout July 3. Mrs. Patricia L. Higgs, formerly from St. Cloud, Minnesota is manning the station now and will serve as alternate lookout." (Herald and News)
July 22, 1960: "Ronald M. Nettleton, majoring in chemistry at Oregon College of Education, and his wife, Roberta, make their home at Salem. This season they provide detection from Drakes Peak Lookout." (Herald and News)
July 2, 1961: "Mr. and Mrs. Don Nettleton of Salem are on the Drakes Peak Lookout." (Herald and News)
1981: "Three outside ground cables not in earth, refrigerator, gas stove and site locator need grounding." These are items needing correction after a lightning protection inspection.
1999: An October OSHA inspection showed the following violations, "no smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, no LP detector, and three different propane tank violations."
2001: The lookout condition report dated August 1st shows the need for glass globes and mantels and that the pilot light goes out easily on the range.
2005: A new concrete prefabricated vault toilet system installed in late August.
DESIGNATION - DRAKE PEAK LOOKOUT HOUSE
PID - NY0769
STATE/COUNTY- OR/LAKE
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - CROOK PEAK (1968)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY US FOREST SERVICE 1935 (NS)
ON WESTERN SUMMIT OF DRAKE PEAK, SITUATED ABOUT 12 MILES AIR LINE
NE OF LAKEVIEW. STATION IS CENTER OF U.S.F.S. DRAKE PEAK LOOKOUT
HOUSE, SITTING ON GROUND, AND BUILT IN 1928.
REFERENCE MARK CONSISTS OF STATION DRAKE PEAK (U.S.F.S.), A DISK
IN BURIED BOULDER, 7.183 METERS (23.57 FEET) W OF CENTER OF LOOKOUT
IN AZIMUTH 102 DEG 18 MIN.
DRAKE PEAK LOOKOUT HOUSE INTERSECTED BY U.S.C. AND G.S. IN 1920
HAS BEEN DISMANTLED. ITS CENTER WAS 10.97 METERS (36 FEET) E OF
NEW HOUSE IN AZIMUTH 266 DEG 05 MIN, DETERMINED BY THE FIRE-FINDER.
STATION IS REACHED FROM LAKEVIEW BY DRIVING N ABOUT 5 MILES ON
FREMONT HIGHWAY (U.S. HIGHWAY 395) TO JUNCTION WITH WARNER VALLEY
ROAD, THENCE E ABOUT 8 MILES ON WARNER VALLEY ROAD TO BULL PRAIRIE
ROAD, THENCE N AND E 13 MILES BY FOREST ROADS TO STATION.
STATION RECOVERY (1948)
RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1948 (MTP)
THIS IS AN INTERSECTION STATION.
LOCATED ON THE WESTERN SUMMIT OF DRAKE PEAK, ABOUT 12 MILES,
AIRLINE, NORTH OF LAKEVIEW. THE PRESENT LOOKOUT HOUSE IS OF WOODEN CONSTRUCTION BUILT ON THE GROUND. IT IS ABOUT 12 FEET SQUARE AND
15 FEET HIGH.
THIS LOOKOUT HOUSE WILL BE DISMANTLED IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND A
NEW BUILDING WILL BE ERECTED ON A FOUNDATION TO THE EAST OF THE
PRESENT LOCATION, A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 14 FEET.