Interviewer
Beth Hodder, Ann Fagre
Files
Description
Kjell Petersen talks about staffing the Snow Peak and Beaver Ridge lookouts as a U.S. Forest Service employee, starting in the late 1960s. He recalls how his lookout was struck by lightning three times in one afternoon, hauling water, calling in a full moon as a fire, and mountain goat trapping by Montana Fish and Game. He also describes being on a lookout during September 11, 2001. He tells the story of another lookout who mistook a herd of elk for wild horses and another lookout whose car got a flat tire and rolled into the timber. He concludes by discussing his appreciation for the solitude the job provided and how some of his most memorable experiences included watching sunrises, sunsets and the stars.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
U.S. Forest Service; Snow Peak Lookout; Beaver Ridge Lookout; Conrad Lookout; Surveyor’s Ridge Lookout; Fire lookout; Fire fighting, Montana; Red Ives Ranger District; St. Joe National Forest; Flathead National Forest; Clearwater National Forest; Cooney Lookout; Baptiste Lookout; Firefighter Lookout; Flathead National Forest; U.S. Forest Service
Original Date
8-25-2018
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Northwest Montana Lookout Association Oral History Project, OH 453, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 453-009
Media Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:50:35 minutes
Local Filename
OH_453_009.mp3; OH_453_009.pdf
Citation
Petersen, C. Kjell, "C. Kjell Petersen Interview, August 25, 2018" (2018). Northwest Montana Lookout Association Oral History Project. 7.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/nwmt-ffla/7