While investigators still have no suspects when it comes to who committed the vandalism, volunteers began the cleanup work this past week on the damage done at High Rock Lookout, according to members of the High Rock Lookout Restoration Project.
Restoration efforts at the lookout have been ongoing for over a decade at the lookout near Mount Rainier, and damage was discovered by project volunteers and reported to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) officials on Thursday, June 11.
The door was smashed in and multiple windows and window frames broken. Additionally, tools and supplies were thrown over the cliff at the lookout, and some of the building’s original ceiling materials, which had been restored and prepared for reinstallation, were broken and scattered over the rocks.
Anyone with possible leads can call the USFS Gifford Pinchot National Forest Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station at 360-497-1100.
“After the initial visit by volunteers to clean up a majority of the broken glass, assess the damage and investigate the crime, this past week’s work included volunteers Caleb and Megan Cedar bushwhacking their way to base of the cliff where vandals tossed the bundles of original beaded ceiling material that had been carefully restored over hundreds of hours by volunteers. It took the(m) 2.5 hours for them to reach the site,” the High Rock Lookout Restoration Project said on Facebook. “They estimate maybe 30-40% of the wood is still usable but it was so difficult to get there, we have not determined if it is feasible to recover it all. Stay tuned on that.”
Project members added the historic preservation team from their partner organization, the Oregon-based Sand Mountain Society, is also now on site to assist with cleanup and repairs.
Aside from “donations of all types,” which have already come in, A Glass Enterprise Inc. of Centralia has donated 11 “starter panes” of glass to replace the broken glass too.
“Curt Ivie went above and beyond the call of duty and traded some leaded glass windows for salvaged windows from the early 1930s. He took those windows apart to get period “rolled” glass, so our replacement glass will have the imperfections that represent the same era as the original windows. This was going above and beyond the call of duty … a phrase that characterized the entire crew,” the High Rock Lookout Restoration Project added.
Oregon Field Guide filmmakers were on site to document cleanup and repair efforts as well, and some of the glass Ivie provided has already been used thanks to Vintage Window Restoration LLC owner Chris Gustafson of Albany, Oregon, repairing a window pane where all nine glass panels had been broken.
“Almost 20 volunteers assisted over the weekend, with several helping haul gear, tools and water from the trailhead. In the end, we removed 4 windows in need of replacement of broken muntins (carefully de-glassed and packaged on pack frames) and we carried out numerous empty water cubies for re-use, cleaned up a huge volume of broken glass and got started re-glazing some vandalized windows. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped and all those who have donated money. You are greatly appreciated,” the High Rock Lookout Restoration Project said.
Originally built by the USFS in 1930 as a fire lookout station on top of a rock bluff, High Rock Lookout was one of only two in the region that survived the forest service destroying them during the 1960s.
It was last used for fire detection in 2004, though the USFS still owns and manages the land, making the vandalism a federal offense.
Restoration efforts initially began in 2014, when the White Pass Country Historical Society members and USFS Cowlitz Valley Ranger District archaeologist Kevin Flores applied for a Valerie Sivinski Washington Preserves Fund grant to get the work started.
The High Rock Lookout Restoration Project is a collaborative effort of the White Pass Country Historical Society, the Sand Mountain Society and the USFS Gifford Pinchot National Forest Cowlitz Valley Ranger District.
The Sand Mountain Society is a historic preservation nonprofit which has been leading restoration efforts since 2020 according to the White Pass Country Historical Society’s website.
Prospective volunteers can fill out the form and waivers required to get involved online at tinyurl.com/HighRockVolunteerForm.
For those unable to volunteer but who still want to help, donations toward restoration efforts can be made online at tinyurl.com/SavetheRock.
To learn more, visit the White Pass Country Historical Society’s website at https://whitepasscountrymuseum.org/high-rock-fire-lookout/, or follow the restoration project on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/57s9jna6.
