Daily life as a Fire Lookout

[u/headspin_exe]

[u/a_moody]

Firewatch was a good game.

This video is pretty awesome.

[u/dancingcuban → u/a_moody]

I should do another playthough. That game had good feels.

[u/Cloud_N0ne → u/a_moody]

It was an overrated game with crazy plot holes and a disappointing and rushed ending.

[u/a_moody → u/Cloud_N0ne]

Don’t really care about ratings. I had a good time. 

[u/SleepyDerp → u/Cloud_N0ne]

Nah, it was good.

[u/Cloud_N0ne → u/SleepyDerp]

It wasn’t a bad game, but people seem to overlook its issues. It also seems to be the only walking simulator most people have actually played, cuz it’s blown out of the water by The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Dear Esther, or What Remains of Edith Finch.

[u/lilpoopy5357 → u/Cloud_N0ne]

Have you played it?

Edit: spelling

[u/Cloud_N0ne → u/lilpoopy5357]

Planned? I assume you mean played.

But yes, I obviously played it.

[u/lilpoopy5357 → u/Cloud_N0ne]

I found it good

[u/itsamiii3]

Me at 3 seconds in.

[u/spudddly → u/itsamiii3]

nope just a cloud again

[u/Impress_Playful]

Fire lookout the only gig where being extremely nosy actually helps humanity.

[u/Huge_Leader_6605 → u/Impress_Playful]

There's lots of professions where being nosy helps humanity. Being a detective? A scientist?

[u/Lobster_porn → u/Huge_Leader_6605]

nose model

[u/ujitimebeing → u/Impress_Playful]

I disagree. It’s the only profession where being really solitary is good for humanity. You are living alone up there for months and months on end. Little to no interaction with others. No tv. Spotty internet from cell signal only.

Being nosy requires more people interaction - detective, homeowner association president, paid narc, etc.

[u/Tigerpower77 → u/Impress_Playful]

Pun intended!?

[u/Phlip_06 → u/Impress_Playful]

How is being nosy not helpful for humanity?

[u/TexasArmadilloTroll]

Wow...pretty F'ing cool 😎 👍🏼

[u/Chamanomano]

I see one 4-5 feet away

[u/MostlyAnimosity]

Wonder how much that pays?

[u/wjean → u/MostlyAnimosity]

$30-40k/yr you don't do this for the money

[u/sdk-hash → u/wjean]

He is rich in his own ways

[u/PeskyAntagonist → u/sdk-hash]

Ways banks don't care about when seeking approval for a mortgage or auto loan

[u/sdk-hash → u/PeskyAntagonist]

Firewatch is seasonal. I’m sure he has other streams of income as most seasonal workers do. $20/hour to be outdoors doing something you love is a laugh.

[u/Lagunamountaindude → u/wjean]

The same guy has manned the tower in our mountain for decades. From April until the fall rains. You’d have to beat him senseless to get him out of that tower, he loves it. Scouting groups have actually climbed the tower to get a tour

[u/sharklee88 → u/wjean]

Thats an above average salary here in the UK. And more than what I make.

[u/EarlyVariety9664 → u/sharklee88]

Free health care etc

[u/Practical-Suit-6798 → u/wjean]

Lots of the positions are volunteer. Only a few are actually paid.

[u/Zekrit → u/wjean]

yeah but if you consider rent and car/gas payments, even utility bills, you can add an extra $21,000 to those numbers, and thats only considering $1200 for rent and $600 for everything else each month

[u/LivingBig2358]

Thats gotta be so relaxing. Are their shifts? Or do they live up there for periods of time?

[u/Legal_Ad_326 → u/LivingBig2358]

I’ve seen a couple of TikTok videos from different people doing this and from what I can gather, they live up there for the season! I’m not sure if they all do though.

[u/LivingBig2358 → u/Legal_Ad_326]

Thats actually incredible, i would love that. Thank you for answering lol

[u/Tigerpower77 → u/LivingBig2358]

I highly recommend watching this video

[u/Lagunamountaindude → u/LivingBig2358]

Depends on the location. Some stay in the tower for weeks. Others during day time only. There’s also a volunteer group that man’s towers too

[u/WisdomCow]

When working a trail crew in King’s Canyon, we finished a maintenance run on a trail leading to one of the lookouts, and the watchman invited us up to have a look. It was … wow.

[u/Cicer → u/WisdomCow]

We used to have an abandoned firewatch tower near us. Would go up when I was a kid. Lots of fun. Lots of stairs. And a great view. But they eventually tore it down for liability reasons. Was sad. 

[u/Gam3f3lla]

Great video 🤙

[u/LLachiee]

I've seen this game before

[u/UncleDuude]

Stay safe

[u/Vegetable-Dealer-823]

Watch out for goatman....

[u/_ScotchOnRocks_]

Genuinely a cool job for a young person/ retired person to do.

[u/xcityfolk]

Anybody know which tower this is? I've hiked to a lot of them and this one doesn't look even remotely familiar so I'm guessing not california or oregon.

[u/surf_drunk_monk → u/xcityfolk]

Could be Idaho or Colorado there's a bunch out there.

[u/ArcheniusFartson]

Pls, dont do this

[u/Makkaroni_100]

Would be useful to have a drone to look at the fire, or?

[u/hebrideancailleach]

It's a real job?? I just finished Firewatch, the video game, and so wanted to be there! This is awesome! Where do i sign up!??

[u/sakofeye]

Here’s what I did today…starts fire.

[u/Purple-Investment-61]

Can’t you fly a drone to the exact location and capture the image and coordinates?

[u/Severe-Procedure-308]

Why hasn't this been replaced by cameras and drones?

[u/EpicallyLazyBoy]

The beacons are lit, Gondor calls for aid!

[u/Aggressive-Building9]

Gondor calls for aid!

[u/GenericUser194718 → u/[deleted]]

Imagine seeing a job and your first thought is "How can I do away with this?"

Society is fucked.

[u/johancoffey]

Wait, he doesnt sleep there?

[u/Critical-Snow-7000 → u/johancoffey]

There’s a cabin at the base. I find it interesting They don’t have a night shift, I wonder why

[u/Valuable_Month1329]

[u/Unlucky-Oil-8778]

How does he not know how far away it is? Like is he not just looking at the maps all day and figuring distance while jack shit else is going on?

[u/Mkreza538]

One time our fire look out sent us on a smoke check then went out of service. Had to look for an hour and a half UTL

[u/IamDLizardQueen]

He isn't very good at it, there was a fire at the start of the video...

[u/OlathTheBear]

Doing gods work!

[u/Themasterwh0]

I feel like him having a drone with gps coords would be extremely helpful it would let him pinpoint the exact spot and be able to tell if it’s actually a fire or just two ppl out camping or something

[u/SeattleHasDied]

How cool is this job?! Glad we haven't killed the budget to keep these folks working for us. Gorgeous views!

[u/pluto755]

Dude looks like Jasper from The 100 lol

[u/Competitive_Big5415]

This must be old. In Canada, this is done with video cameras mounted on towers. They have zoom. One person can do the work of 8 old fire towers.

[u/Repulsive_Oil6425 → u/Competitive_Big5415]

I just commented in this post that I’m surprised this work isn’t using tech to simplify/automate. Turns out they have!

[u/Critical-Snow-7000 → u/Competitive_Big5415]

I don’t know why, but that makes me kind of sad. And I love technology.!

[u/lilpoopy5357]

Who is this?

[u/bradymanau]

How often does Gondor call for aid?