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There is an operational USFS fire lookout tower on High Point, built in 1964. It is 70 feet tall, making it the tallest USFS fire tower in California. It was brought back into service in 2009 and is staffed by the San Diego/Riverside County Chapter of the FFLA Forest Fire Lookout Association - San Diego/Riverside. Other local peaks include:
Chews Ridge, at an elevation of 5,082 feet (1,549 m), is the third highest peak in the Santa Lucia Range. Junipero Serra Peak at 5,865 feet (1,788 m) is the highest. During severe winter storms, the peak can receive 1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) of snow.
In September 2020, the observatory was evacuated due to the Bobcat Fire. [29] [30] Flames approached within 500 feet (150 m) of the observatory on September 15, [31] [32] but the observatory was declared safe on September 19. [33] In January 2025, the observatory was evacuated due to the Eaton Fire, which approached Mount Wilson on January 9. [34]
The Bobcat Fire was within 500 feet of the observatory in Los Angeles County, which was founded in 1904 and once had some of the largest operational telescopes in the world, the U.S. Forest ...
This isn’t the first time Mt. Wilson has been threatened by fire, most notably by the Station fire in 2009, which burned more than 160,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest.
It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory, which is an important astronomical facility in Southern California with historic 60-inch (1,524 mm) and 100-inch (2,540 mm) aperture telescopes, and 60-foot (18.3 m) and 150-foot (45.7 m) tall solar towers.
The observatory is located off State Route 76 in northern San Diego County, California, two hours' drive from downtown San Diego and three hours' drive from central Los Angeles (UCLA, LAX airport). [38] Those staying at the nearby Palomar Campground can visit Palomar Observatory by hiking 2.2 miles (3.5 km) up Observatory Trail. [39]
These include the Chacaltaya Astrophysical Observatory in Bolivia, which at 5,230 m (17,160 ft) was the world's highest permanent astronomical observatory [9] from the time of its construction during the 1940s until surpassed in 2009 by the new University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, [10] an optical-infrared telescope on a remote 5,640 m ...