The Rankin Ridge Fire Tower is located in the northwestern portion of Wind Cave National Park. Situated at an elevation of 5,013 feet, the highest point in the national park, the tower provides a panoramic view of southeastern Black Hills and the surrounding Great Plains. It was constructed in 1956 and remained in regular use during fire seasons until 1998. As the National Park Service (NPS) notes, “public access to the catwalk around the tower and the inside of the tower has been limited [since 1998]. The public was last able to visit the top of the tower during the park’s centennial celebration in 2003. Currently, the tower is only used sporadically to look for fires or to monitor severe weather conditions. Naming Rankin Ridge and Planning for a Lookout Tower: The Rankin Ridge area became part of the national park on August 1946 when more than 16,000 acres of the former Custer Recreation Demonstration Area (RDA) were added to Wind Cave, increasing the total acreage of the park from 11,718 to 28,059 acres. Following this significant expansion, and in anticipation of the park’s upcoming 50th anniversary in 1953, Superintendent Earl M. Semingsen proposed naming this highpoint in the recently expanded park after Wind Cave’s first superintendent: William A. Rankin. The name “Rankin Ridge” was formally proposed to the Domestic Names Committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names in November 1951. A few weeks later, on 4 January 1952, Rankin Ridge received its official geographic designation.
Source: www.nps.gov/wica/learn/historyculture/upload/Spence_Ranki…
A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. The fire lookout tower is a small building, usually located on the summit of a mountain or other high vantage point, in order to maximize the viewing distance and range, known as view shed. From this vantage point the fire lookout can see smoke that may develop, determine the location by using a device known as an Osborne Fire Finder, and call fire suppression personnel to the fire. Lookouts also report weather changes and plot the location of lightning strikes during storms. The location of the strike is monitored for a period of days after in case of ignition. The typical fire lookout tower consists of a small room, known as a cab located atop a large steel, or wooden tower. Historically, the tops of tall trees have also been used to mount permanent platforms. Sometimes natural rock may be used to create a lower platform. In cases where the terrain makes a tower unnecessary, the structure is known as a ground cab. Ground cabs are called towers, even if they don’t sit on a tower. Towers gained popularity in the early 1900s, and fires were reported using telephones, carrier pigeons, and heliographs. Although many fire lookout towers have fallen into disrepair as a result of neglect, abandonment, and declining budgets, some fire service personnel have made an effort to preserve older fire towers, arguing that a good set of human eyes watching the forest for wildfire can be an effective and cheap fire safety measure.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_lookout_tower
