The lookout tower was built in 1937 and remained in service until 1981 . Ramona Merwin , a USFS fire lookout staffed the tower from 1953 until its closing . The tower was slated to be moved to the Chilao Visitors Center , but a group of active citizens in cooperation with the Forest Service were able to rebuild , restore , and return the tower to operational service in 1998 . The tower was operated by the Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association ( ANFFLA ) citizen volunteers in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service until it was destroyed on August 31 , 2009 by the Station Fire . In the years since the fire , the volunteers have been manning a temporary lookout at the base of the steps to the original lookout , keeping watch over the forest . The Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association ( ANFFLA ) volunteers began the rebuilding of the fire lookout on July 12 , 2014 with a " bucket brigade , " pouring a new concrete pad on which will be built a new lookout structure , using the original 1930s historic design
Station Fire
Station Fire (2009)
Vetter Mountain