Clouds often filter through the valleys of the Cascades, hiding and revealing the peaks beyond them. For 19-year-old Evan Wright, that changing view is part of what keeps drawing him back. “You’re kind of surrounded by almost everything nature has to offer up here,” Wright said. The hike is only about a mile and a half one way, but it gains roughly 1,300 feet of elevation.

“The first time I was up here, I was blown away,” Wright said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The destination is High Rock Lookout, a historic fire lookout just outside Mount Rainier National Park. Built in 1930 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it sits high above the surrounding valleys with sweeping views of Mount Rainier and the South Cascades.

Don Allen has spent 37 years helping restore fire lookouts across the region. He is president of the Sand Mountain Society, an all-volunteer organization that began by restoring Sand Mountain Lookout in Oregon and later expanded to other historic preservation projects.

“There were so many lookouts at one time in the Pacific Northwest, and now, we’re down to so few,” Allen said.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

The post Volunteers restore Washington historic fire lookout after vandalism appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Black fire beetles are showing up around burned trees and debris and Washington officials said they are part of the natural process after a fire. The beetles are drawn to warm fire areas because they have infrared sensors. Washington DNR said they use burned landscapes to reproduce.

“They find these fire affected landscapes. They lay their eggs on the bark, and the eggs hatch and they burrow under the bark and they start feeding. And yeah, they’re they’re part of this recycle process that happens post-fire,” Dana Brennan, the Forest Entomologist said. Because the beetles burrow into trees, they have mandibles [pinchers] and can bite if they get trapped against someone’s skin.

“If one of those beetles happens to land on you and fall down your shirt or something, they might bite. But truly, that’s not their intention. These guys get kind of misinterpreted as as biting insects. They can – they don’t want to. They’re looking for a burn tree to lay their eggs on,” Brennan said. Brennan said the beetles are native and not a threat. If one ends up crawling on someone, she said the best response is to brush it off.

“These are not a public health emergency. These are native. They’re doing a really important thing in our landscape. Just be mindful of where they’re at, where you’re at. If you have one crawling on you just let it go,” Brennan said. These bugs do not survive in flames, instead they are the first to move in during the smoldering phases, and leave around the time other decomposing bugs show up.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

The post Black fire beetles present after the Spokane Area Complex Fires appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Lynn's Fayette St. Fire Station reopened after $6.9 million in renovations, adding safety upgrades, expanded living space, and new systems.

The post Lynn (MA) Fire Station Cuts Ribbon on $6.9M Renovations appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The FAA is moving to fire two LaGuardia air traffic controllers after a fatal Air Canada Express crash involving an ARFF.

The post FAA Moves to Fire NY Air Traffic Controllers Who Left Early Before ARFF Truck-Jet Collision appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Firefighters battling a fire at a Billings-area subdivision outside city limits had to use a water shuttle because the area lacks traditional hydrants and relies on dry hydrants.

The post Dry Hydrants Employed by Firefighters Responding to MT Fire appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.