Work is underway this fall to make two popular fire towers in central Vermont safer for hikers to climb.
The fire towers on Elmore Mountain and Spruce Mountain were both built in the first half of the 20th century, as part of a historic federal effort to suppress wildfire and create jobs during the Great Depression.
The towers haven’t been staffed by fire lookouts since the 1970s, and are now mostly frequented by people looking for a view. However, climbing the steep and sometimes rickety wooden staircases to the lookout at the top can be harrowing, said Walter Opuszynski, who is overseeing the restoration work for the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.
FPR is replacing the wooden steps with durable metal ones and adding railings, similar to what exists now at the tower in Allis State Park.
“I think people are going to feel a bit more secure, especially folks that are on the bell curve of physicality, age,” Opuszynski said.
The Elmore and Spruce fire towers are two of eight towers the state plans to renovate over the next few years. Last year, renovations were completed on the Burke Mountain, Okemo and Allis towers. Because the towers on Spruce and Elmore are so high and remote, a helicopter will have to carry construction materials to the summit.
“I want to say altogether that’s about 3,000 pounds that need to be transported,” Opuszynski said. “Then the work — it’s painting, doing a handful of maintenance items, like fixing places where the walls have detached … bullet holes … putting a railing system inside the cab.”
Both towers will also be regrounded, to protect them from lighting strikes.
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The first fire tower in Vermont was built in 1912 on Burke Mountain. According to documents compiled by the State Division of Historic Preservation, roughly 16 fire towers remain in the state, of 38 lookout stations built here since 1911.
The Elmore Mountain Fire Tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939, after a huge hurricane swept through New England and knocked down trees on millions of acres of land, creating new fuel for forest fires. The CCC built the tower near the site of a failed summit hotel, and while it was in operation, it had a telephone with a landline and a watchman’s cabin — both of which are gone now.
Spruce Mountain was originally home to a wooden tower, but the current steel fire tower was relocated there in 1943, from a site in St. Albans.
In their heyday, the towers were staffed by fire lookouts, a practice Vermont stopped in 1974.
Opuszynski said restoring the Spruce and Elmore towers will cost almost $250,000 each. The project is being funded using state money from a mix of resources including timber sales and funds set aside for maintaining state owned buildings, with a matching grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The towers are expected to remain closed through the end of October. Opuszynski said hikers should check for trail closures, but will still have access to the vista on Spruce Mountain during construction, except for during helicopter landings.
