Something Even Better than working on a lighthouse?

In an email with an ex British Columbia (BC) lighthouse keeper he mentioned that he was going to work in Alberta, Canada as a Fire Tower Lookout!

What does that have to do with lighthouses?

A lot from many people’s perspective! Both jobs have the isolation and romance that a lot of people seek in a job. When I was younger I know it was always in the back of my mind.

Again the same questions pop up – Wouldn’t it be lonely? What about wild animals? What happens if you hurt yourself? These and many more questions are asked, but to the adventurous, it is part of the adventure. Anyways, take a look at the photo at the top – that is an Alberta lookout tower but not as you or I probably imagined it – sitting on the ground!

The photo is taken from a 2011 story by Calgary Herald reporterJamie Komarnicki Mystery and mountains: A look at Alberta forest fire spotters. 

I am sixty-seven and my friend told me that even I was not too young to go work one of the towers, but from reading the rest of the article I hear the competition is great – a lot of people have the dream just like those that want to be lighthouse keepers. This part of the article was most interesting to me:

Provincial wildfire detection coordinator Tim Klein described the job as 90 per cent boredom and 10 per cent chaos. One of my favourite quotes of the story came when I asked Klein about the romance often associated with the working life at these solitary outposts (captured in fiction with Beat legend Jack Kerouac’s novel, Desolation Angels,  which he wrote as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak). – click here or the title above to read the full story

For those of you who wish to find out more information, here is the link to apply: for the Alberta  Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) Job Classification as Lookout Observer.

The above page gives you General Information and salary, Position Qualifications, Roles and Responsibilities, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the most important one – How to Apply!

I know that this FAQ will interest you as it did me:

What is provided at the lookout site?
The facilities include the main house, which comprises:
a combination living room/kitchen
a small separate room for an office
a small bedroom
There is a small propane refrigerator, stove and heater. The propane is provided. There is an engine house where the power plant is located and an outhouse.
The lookout tower itself may be 6 m (20 ft.) to 36 m (120 ft.) in height or a cabin type with access through a hole in the ceiling (see my question above about wild animals). The average tower height is 30 m (100 ft.).
You are responsible to insure that the house and related facilities are kept in a neat and clean condition at all times. As well, most sites have a small shed for miscellaneous storage.
There is no running water. Rain water is collected in barrels and boiled for washing. Bathing/shower facilities are usually the result of individual ingenuity. Groceries are not provided. Drinking water is provided.

 So, it is a lot like living on a lighthouse except for the hole in the ceiling access!

And here is a list of Active Fire Weather Stations. This list includes the Lookout Towers (maybe not all of them as I could not find Limestone Lookout here) as well as Automatic Stations, Ranger Stations, Contract Stations and Alberta (AB) Agriculture Stations. Some of the stations have links – if you know of more, please let me know and I will add them.

And last but not least, here is another story by Stuart Gradon on the Alberta Lookout Towers with more photos and video.

[private]Fire lookouts in Alberta

August 22, 2011. 12:34 pm 

Posted by: 
Stuart Gradon

I recently wrapped up work on a weekend story by Herald reporter Jamie Komarnicki on fire lookouts in Alberta. It involved traveling out to a couple of lookouts in the Kananaskis Country. We ended up hiking up to the Kananaskis lookout, which is manned by Joe Burritt, and hitching a ride on a supply transport helicopter to the Barrier Lake lookout, where Chip McCullough keeps watch.