KLAMATH COUNTY
SHAKE BUTTE
Klamath FPA; 34S-15E-05
June 28, 1931: "Mr. McLean returned Saturday from Shake butte where the association is completing the construction of nine miles of fire protection road from the Bly-Silver Lake road to the top of Shake butte where a lookout is stationed." (The Klamath News)
July 1, 1931: "Recent improvements in Klamath county consist of the development of lookout stations on Shake and Quartz buttes. The former is in the Sycan country and will cover a large area of private holdings in the Lake county area. The latter is east of Bly and covers the active operations of the Ewauna Box Co., as well as some of the adjacent timber lands. Roads have been constructed to the summit of both buttes so as to make it possible to drive the entire distance by car." (The Forest Log)
July 9, 1931: "The Klamath Forest Protective Association has a station on Shake Butte, near Currier Camp, which is now functioning." (Lake County Examiner)
1931: " In Unit 2 we constructed a road and a telephone line to the top of Shake Butte and set up a small lookout tower." (23rd KFPA Annual Report 1931)
1940: The lookout was staffed for 180 days. The reporting station was Bly Station. Communications were by radio and telephone.
May 27, 1943: "Mrs. Rosella Cline Thompson, stationed at Shake Butte, 25 miles north of Bly. Accompanying Mrs. Thompson, second and third grade teacher at Riverside, will be her husband who is to be the warden." (Herald and News)
August 17, 1945: "A Japanese balloon spotted over Klamath Falls on the afternoon of last January 10 gave this nation its first complete picture of the enemy's wind-wafted weapon.
That was big news in January that could not be told then, but with the war over, censorship has been lifted on the whole story of the balloons, of which more than a dozen landed or were sighted in Klamath county.
A subsequent incident in this area which cost the lives of five children and an adult woman on a creek just over the county line near Bly.
Many false alarms were heard in this area as elsewhere. People saw the planet Venus and other objects in the air, thinking they might be balloons. Weather balloons started a lot of searches.
About three weeks ago lookouts at Shake butte saw a balloon come down in their area but it has never been found. Two days later, a lookout reported seeing one near Olene." (Herald and News)
July 2, 1948: "Don Paillette, assistant dispatcher at the KFPA headquarters here, left this morning for Shake butte where he will relieve a lookout over the Fourth of July holiday." (Herald and News)
July 7, 1948: "Don Paillette of the Klamath Forest Protective association spent the holiday week-end as a relief on the Shake butte lookout in the Bly vicinity." (Herald and News)
July 9, 1948: "Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rhodes have returned to the Shake Butte lookout station after having spent the holiday week-end in Klamath Falls." (Herald and News)
1951: On the December 26th list of KFPA lookouts and their locations notes that this lookout sets on USFS lands.
1954: " A 31 foot steel tower with a 10x10 wooden house was 90% completed. A total of $1258.78 was expended, estimated final cost when completed will be $1500.00" (KFPA Annual Report)
1956: The new steel steps on the new tower were finished and put into operation this summer.
June 10, 1963: "On Shake Butte, 18 miles north of Bly, winds from 50 to 60 mph have been recorded and snow is falling so heavily that the fire guard is unable to see the ground from the lookout tower." (Herald and News)
August 21, 1967: "The district forester for the KFPA dispatched the Camp 6 crew to a class A blaze “just barely south of Shake Butte.” Lightning had struck a snag and caused a small amount of ground fire. The crew had no problem extinguishing the fire. It was spotted by the Shake Butte lookout." (Herald and News)
1970: No fires were reported from this station. The outside of the tower including the stairs were painted.
1972: As of June 23, this was the only lookout operated by the State not yet opened for the fire season.
Removed
Photos at nearby KFPA Camp Six Guard Station in August 1964. Courtesy: Edward Allred
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY US FOREST SERVICE 1935 (NS)
INTERSECTED STATION, LOOKOUT CENTER IS TARGET AND STATION.
THIS INTERSECTED STATION IS THE CENTER OF THE LOOKOUT HOUSE ON
SHAKE BUTTE, SITUATED ABOUT 18 MILES AIRLINE NORTH OF BLY. FROM
BLY PROCEED EAST ALONG KLAMATH-FALLS-LAKEVIEW HIGHWAY 4 MILES,
THENCE TURN NORTH ON TRUCK ROAD 14 MILES TO JUNCTION, TURN RIGHT
AND PROCEED EAST, NORTH AND EAST 11 MILES TO SPUR ROAD, 1.25
MILES TO SUMMIT.