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The logging town of Darrington, Wash., fights to save a fire lookout view full piece »

Topic: Politics & Policy     Department: Multimedia

A former Green Mountain fire lookout tells his story

Video - January 23, 2012 by Nathan Rice
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"Lightbulb" Winders recounts his experiences as the last lookout on Green Mountain, in the Glacier Peak Wilderness near Darrington, Washington.

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George Winters
George Winters Subscriber
Jan 24, 2012 12:12 PM
Wonderful bit of story telling by Lightbulb! Thanks.
Jeannine Koshear
Jeannine Koshear Subscriber
Jan 29, 2012 08:46 PM
Lightbulb, what a wonderful memoir/reminder of the gifts of the Cascades in our lives! This past summer I returned to Darrington for the first time since 1979, when I worked as a firefighter and knew you as the slightly mystical lookout of Green Mountain. My observation of Darrington this summer was that time had not been kind, that this is definitely a town that's down on its luck, but as I drove its streets, a young woman wheeling a baby carriage actually smiled and waved at me. That wouldn't have happened in the old days when anyone who worked for the Forest Service or who was clearly an outsider was suspect. So many powerful memories of people and the place itself...rafting the Sauk river with our ragtag flotilla, encountering a bear with two cubs on a backroad. Picking berries (yum!), which I also did this summer practically from my sleeping bag. Thanks for a great photo essay!

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