PACIFIC COUNTY
SQUALLY JIM (walville)
Washington State Department of Forestry
13N-6W-27
13N-6W-27
June 10, 1927: "The line heretofore maintained from Doty has been abandoned and a new one has been built from Walville to Walville lookout station five and one half miles distant." (The Chehalis Bee-Nugget)
May 24, 1929: "Lewis county field men include Clark Plant, Salkum; Ingvar Finstad, Solver Creek; Melin Weese, Elmer Baxter, Charles Kulp and field men. Oral Weese of Pe Ell, the latter being in charge of Walville lookout." (The Chehalis Bee-Nugget)
1941: "One new lookout was constructed in Pacific County, this being of a semi-permanent character. The lumber for this building was donated by the Willapa Harbor Lumber Mills, a division of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. This concrete and effective cooperation is most gratefully acknowledged. A road, approximately one mile in length was built to the top of the hill chosen as the lookout site, and a building 10 feet square by 16 feet high was erected. The upper floor, which is glassed in, constitutes the lookout proper, the living quarters being the lower area. It is expected that this site will be used for six or more years, when another hill, approximately one mile to the west will be logged by truck, and both roads will then connect. At that time a more permanent lookout will be erected. The area surrounding this lookout was used as a temporary site for one summer, and proved its value for observation.
These lookouts, one at Elk Rock located in the SE 1/4 of Section 31, Township 9 North, Range 4 East, and Squally Jim Lookout, located in Section 27, Township 13 North, Range 6 West, go a long way towards filling in our blind spots." (34th Annual Report of the Washington Forest Fire Association)
Activated: March 9, 1942. Olympia Filter Center.
The Squally Jim Air Warning Service Station "How 1-2" utilized existing facilities owned by the State of Washington. Improvements added by the AWS was a 12 x 20 garage. At the end of service the State retained the site. (Report of AWS Stations, May 1, 1944)
September 22, 1951: "The fire broke out Thursday near the lookout station on Squally Jim mountain, in valuable holdings of the Weyerhaeuser Timber company. It spread overnight to some 600 acres in size. Friday night, crews estimated its size at 1,000 acres." (The Daily Chronicle)
1955: "A standard lookout station consisting of a 40-foot timber tower mounted by a 14'x14' cabin on top was constructed at Squally Jim in Pacific County. The cabin is the new design developed by the Division of Forestry, are being built of plywood and glass with an aluminum roof which overhangs the building to act as a sun shade." (Biennial Report of the Forestry Division)
October 12, 1962: The lookout was destroyed in the Columbus Day Storm.
1962-64: A replacement lookout tower was erected on Squally Jim in Pacific County. (4th Biennial Report of the Washington Department of Natural Resources)
January 26, 1966: "Following the luncheon, Mrs. Roy Thompson, Lebam, presented the program. She told the group of her experiences as a watchman at the Squally Jim Lookout Station located in northeastern Pacific County. For five years Mrs. Thompson has kept watch on the vast forestland during the months when fires are apt to break out. She also showed the members photographs and a four-foot model of the lookout tower." (The Daily Chronicle)
1968: Removed
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 1952
LOCATED 7.5 MI W. OF PE ELL, ABOUT 6 MI NE. OF LEBAM. 20 FT. E.
OF SQUALLY JIM LOH.
TO REACH FROM LEBAM, DRIVE 0.1 MI E. ON STATE HWY. 12A. TURN LEFT
ON DIRT RD. 0.8 MI TO RD. FORKS. TAKE LEFT FORK THROUGH GATE
FOLLOWING RD. 6.6 MI TO RD. FORKS. TAKE LEFT FORK 1.4 MI TO LOH
AND STATION.
STATION MARK--STANDARD TABLET STAMPED---SQUALLY JIM 1952---,
CEMENTED IN ROCK OUTCROP.
RM 1--PEAK OF ROOF OF CUPOLA OF LOH.