The Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association (" ANFFLA") is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

organization of citizen volunteers dedicated to the preservation,

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

and operation of the

fire lookout tower 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. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...

s in the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

, and other

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

areas. The organization works in partnership with the federal, state, county and city agencies to meet these goals. The Association was founded in 1998 by Pam and George Morey and several other members as an offshoot of the San Bernardino National Forest Association.

Purpose

# Restore, maintain and staff the remaining lookouts of the Angeles National Forest. ## The Association serves an additional role in that the volunteers are trained

fire lookouts A fire lookout (partly also called a fire watcher) is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a ...

to call in smoke and fire reports thus enhancing the fire fighting capabilities of the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. # Interpret the natural and cultural history of the fire lookouts and the surrounding area for forest visitors. # Encourage visitors to participate actively in caring for all of our National Forests # Generate interest in and support for the fire lookout program ANFFLA01

Objectives

* Staff and maintain fire lookout towers of the Angeles National Forest and nearby Southern California area. * Assist the Angeles National Forest Dispatch/Fire Suppression Staff by providing radio relay, accurate smoke reports and remote eyes and ears for incident assessment as needed * Assist the Angeles National Forest Fire Prevention Staff through interpretive delivery of key fire prevention messages and hands-on experience with the Osborne Fire Finder and related devices * Assist the Angeles National Forest Recreation Staff by providing general recreation information * Assist the Angeles National Forest by greeting visitors, and providing general forest orientation, information and assistance * Provide informal and impromptu interpretation of the surrounding area both cultural and historical * Create a positive image for the U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association, volunteers, partners and sponsors

Fire lookout towers

Membership

The association is open to all people, aged 18 or older. They must attend required training to join, and attend a "re-up" session once a year usually held in the Spring before the start of the fire season.

Training

All new members are required to attend 3 instructional classes consisting of "Introduction", "Interpretation", and "Operations" in order to be a member. To be a qualified fire lookout, one must also attend an "in-tower" training class at the lookout tower of their choice. In order to be qualified for more than one tower, the applicant must attend an "in-tower" training at each of the towers. Each year, returning members must attend a yearly "re-up" session.

Meetings

Monthly meetings are held each month are known as "super sessions" where safety, operational, and other administrative information is disseminated. The meetings begins with a potluck dinner and end with a talk or presentation by a guest speaker or fellow member.

References

External links

* * * {{cite web , url = http://www.sbnfa.com/firelookouts.php , title = San Bernardino National Forest Association Fire Lookouts Angeles National Forest San Gabriel Mountains Firefighters associations in the United States Firefighting in California Fire lookout towers in California Organizations based in Los Angeles County, California Non-profit organizations based in California 1998 establishments in California Environmental organizations established in 1998 Wildfire suppression agencies