100 years of fire towers
Author Marty Podskotch hikes Mount Morris, the site of the state’s fire observation towerBy MIKE LYNCH, Enterprise Outdoors Writer
Article Photos
TUPPER LAKE - Climbing abandoned ski trails on the way to Mount Morris' 3,136-foot-high summit, author Marty Podskoch talked about an experience that changed his life.
He was hiking Hunter Mountain in the Catskills on a snowy October day in 1987 when he saw smoke coming from the chimney of a fire-observation cabin. Upon arriving at the cabin, the observer invited Podskoch and his friend into the cabin for a glass of water.
"He said he was a retired fireman from New York City," Podskoch said. "He came back to Tannersville, and he said this is the greatest job he's ever had, just meeting thousands of people every year."
After talking to the fire observer, Podskoch, then a middle school reading teacher from Delhi, saw the opportunity to write a book telling the story of these fire towers. He had never written a book, but he approached a publishing company with the idea. He was initially turned down, but a decade later, after interest in the subject started spreading, he received the go-ahead. Today, he is the author of three fire tower books: one on the Catskills and two on the Adirondacks.
On Thursday, Podskoch, who lives in Colchester, Conn., led a group of five people to the summit of Mount Morris to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of fire towers in New York state.
Among those on the trip was Tupper Lake resident Dale Reandeau, whose father Clarence was the fire observer on Ampersand Mountain in 1956 and whose uncle Carter had the job in 1957.
"I can remember my father telling me how he would be in the fire tower watching the eagles ride the thermals, a couple thousand feet above, and he'd sit there with his binoculars," Reandeau said. "You know, Chapel Island (on Upper Saranac Lake), the original one burnt. He's the one that reported that fire."
Podskoch chose Mount Morris because it was the site of the first fire-observation station in the state. In 1909, after several years of devastating fires that destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres, the state built observation stations upon Mount Morris and several other mountains.
The Mount Morris observation station was built in June; then, a month later, another was completed on Whiteface Mountain. Both observation stations were connected to nearby villages via telephone lines, ready to alert help in the case of a fire. The towers were wooden and built to a height that suited their needs. On mountains that had their views obstructed by trees, the towers were built above the treeline. Others, such as the original one on Whiteface, were low level buildings. Each structure was equipped with a telephone, maps and binoculars. When smoke was sighted, an observer would call in the location of the fire to a forest ranger.
"From Mt. Morris we can reach 21 patrolmen and supervisors," First District Superintendent M.C. Hutchins wrote in the state Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner's report in December 1909. "We are therefore able to have sufficient help at any fire, within a radius of 15 miles of the station, on very short notice."
The property for the fire-observation station on Mount Morris was leased from Edward H. Litchfield, who owned the mountain and surrounding area. He reportedly was happy to have an observation station there because he would benefit from it if a fire were spotted on his nearby land.
In his book "Adirondack Fire Towers: Their History and Lore, The Northern Districts" Podskoch reported that the first observer on Mount Morris was Richard Gile, who received $60 a month in pay plus $12 for provisions.
"Gile was quite busy spotting smoke," Podskoch wrote. "He reported 16 fires from July to the end of the season in November."
Eventually, the wooden structures were replaced with steel towers, including one on Mount Morris in 1919, according to Podskoch. By 1960, the state had approximately 102 fire towers operating throughout the state.
But in 1971, the state started to use air surveillance and gradually closed the fire towers to save money. By 1990 the remaining four fire towers in the Adirondacks and one in the Catskills being used to spot fires were closed. Fifty-two towers were removed, but many remained and began to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance.
Today, towers remain on some mountains, such as Mount Arab outside of Tupper Lake and Snowy Mountain in Indian Lake. Others, such as the Mount Morris tower, are off-limits to the public because they are privately owned.
Podskoch said that John Deming, a surveyor from Elizabethtown, owns the top of the mountain. The rest of the mountain is owned by Michael Foxman, who has plans to turn the former Big Tupper Ski Area on Mount Morris back to a working ski center. Foxman also has plans for a large-scale housing development around the ski center.
Nowadays, to spot fires, the state Department of Environmental Conservation "relies on the observations by forest rangers and other DEC staff while they are driving on roads to watch for smoke during their patrols," DEC spokesman Dave Winchell said, "Also, with the number of people traveling the roads, hiking in the woods and flying over the forests, we receive numerous reports from the public."
During dry periods, the DEC uses aerial surveillance.
The tradition of spotting fires from towers is mostly gone in the Adirondacks, but the view from places such as Mount Morris remains as inspiring as ever. From Morris' summit, one can still see into Hamilton, St. Lawrence and Essex counties. It's a sight few have the opportunity to see now, and no one on a daily basis.
"Look how far they could see," said Podskoch, gazing toward Long Lake. "My God."
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Contact Mike Lynch at 891-2600 ext. 28 or mlynch@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
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TLNative
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09-08-09 7:40 PM
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Wow...I never knew we had the first one in the state and I have lived here most of my life....ya learn sumthin new every day....
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