Marinette County, WI (WTAQ) – You may have seen them dotting the landscape across the Northwoods, but fire observation towers will soon be a thing of the past.
Since the 1930s, the lookouts have been in service across much of the northern part of the state.
Next year they will all be retired.
“The towers are no longer structurally safe for personnel to be in, and the cost of replacement is prohibitive,” said Jennifer Sereno, DNR Spokesperson.
State forestry leaders say it would cost about $25 million to replace all 72 towers.
“In terms of how much it would cost to either restoring them, of maintaining them moving forward, or in some cases replacing them, the money is better spent elsewhere,” said Sereno.
The DNR says it will still watch for smoke and fire throughout the seasons, just not in towers.
They’ll use airplanes instead.
“We will be investing money saved from taking the towers out of service, into our flight program,” said Sereno.
The DNR says the population has grown in the Northwoods over the years, and many of those people have cell phones.
“Today, well over 90% of the forest fires that occur in our state are reported by citizens, and we recognize the change was needed,” said Sereno.
So what’s the future of the towers? The DNR says there is no timeline, but one thing is certain, all 72 towers will be closed in the Spring.
