Gene Miller Interview, February 4, 2021

Gene Miller describes growing up in Montana’s Swan Valley and how that helped him decide to become a U.S. Forest Service lookout. Miller talks about his 38-year tenure as a lookout, including on Priscilla Peak, three lookout towers as a relief staffer, and then 37 years on Blue Mountain. He tells about several fire incidents, including the inside phone melting after a lightning strike and igniting a fire under the lookout. He recalls a diverse range of visitors to the tower including Russian and Chinese delegations, pot smokers, an arsonist who was starting fires along the road, and the Hells Angels.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/nwmt-ffla/1011/thumbnail.jp