Until 1965, Pinnacle Peak, located just outside the City of Enumclaw, had an iconic fire lookout tower that provided visitors a 360 degree view of the area including Mt. Rainier. In support of a grassroots effort from community members on the Enumclaw Plateau to rebuild the historic fire lookout, Metropolitan King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn announced today that the King County Budget will include $10,000 for the project.
“I’m glad to be able to support this community effort to rebuild the Pinnacle Peak Fire Lookout,” said Dunn. “This fire lookout will be a great addition to the Enumclaw area and I look forward to seeing how this project progresses.”
“It’s exciting to receive financial support from King County that will go towards rebuilding such an iconic part of the Enumclaw community,” said Doug Borst, President of the Mt. Peak Historical Fire Lookout Association. “I’d also like to thank Reagan Dunn for securing these funds, it’s great to have King County as a partner in this project.”
Until 1966, visitors could visit the tower and staff through the summer and have a 360 degree view of the Enumclaw plateau, Mt. Rainier, and surrounding area. In 1966, when improved forest fire monitoring technology eliminated the need for a full time observer, Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources took down the tower citing safety concerns.
Today the Pinnacle Peak Trail has become of the most popular trails in South King County and all that’s left of the lookout at the top of the trail are the four piers that supported the tower.
In 2000, the Pinnacle Peak property was transferred from the Department of National Resources to King County Parks. Since then, on a busy weekend day the trail will see approximately 300-400 visitors. It’s a popular hike for locals and those in training to climb Mt. Rainier.
The $10,000 will go towards building a brand new lookout tower for visitors to Pinnacle Peak to experience the iconic view of Mt. Rainier and the surrounding area.
The funding proposal is included in the proposed update to 2017-18 King County Budget passed out of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee on October 25. It is anticipated that the full County Council will vote on the proposed budget in November.
The Mt. Peak Historical Fire Lookout Association will be holding a community meeting on November 8th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Enumclaw Library, located at 1700 1st St, Enumclaw, WA 98022, for those interested in learning more about the project.
