Are you looking for a summer job experience that is completely out of the ordinary? Wildfire Lookout Observers spend their summers in Alberta’s remote natural areas tracking changes in weather and reporting wildfire. In this forestry job profile, Michelle Wartenberg shares the joys and challenges she has faced as a Wildfire Lookout Observer.
Tell me about your job.
I work for the Alberta Government as a Lookout Observer.
What role do Lookout Observers play in wildfire management?
Lookout Observers collect weather data which helps calculate our forecasts and predict how fires will behave—this helps us decide how our wildland fighters will work to control fires, or how many patrols we should send out to look for new fires. As part of this weather tracking and data collection we also call in storm paths and lightning strikes, and may also be asked to call in significant changes in weather. We also report any fires we see from our towers. Lookout Observers are considered part of the “fixed detection” process in the province.
What sort of experience and training do you have?
I spent a year working in dispatch for a security company, so that gave me some radio experience beforehand. But mostly I received the training I needed after I was hired—they send you to Hinton to a training camp for a week. In the camp you meet a lot of different new lookouts from very different backgrounds and experience levels.
What made you decide to take this career path?
I decided to take this career path because I love being outdoors, and as I plan to be a substitute teacher I wanted something steady for the summer months. I was so excited when this opportunity opened up for me; I feel really blessed to be able to work out in the forest all summer then take my time and travel or teach during the winter.
What does a typical day/week look like for you?
A typical day starts with collecting and transmitting weather data and then doing “ladder checks” based on how likely it is that a fire will occur. Most often, given the lack of rain over the last few years, we are on higher hazard levels so we spend most of our time up in the cupola of our tower scanning for smoke or reporting significant weather shifts. You adjust to a schedule if you get a certain hazard level more often, so I would typically do my chores after weather and before my tower climb, and after I’d climbed down for the night I would either go for a hike or do some baking.
How long does a typical fire season span?
My tower is only a four month season, so I get to be out in the woods from the start of May to the first week of September. Other towers can have as few as three months or as much as our longest season of eight months, which lasts from March to October.
What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
This is a tough question! I love the fact that my job has me out in the woods, and I’m a bit of a geek so I love working with the weather data. But I think I have to say I love the adrenaline rush of tracking a close storm, or having a multi start day where you have to call in a lot of fires or give cross-shots to help locate fires. It’s really satisfying to spot smoke and hear the assessment team call in to confirm the fire and request the next fire number to label it.
What is the coolest thing you’ve been able to do?
The coolest thing I’ve gotten to do is go flying in a helicopter! I was stoked! It’s actually fairly common in this line of work, but my tower has a road so I had never been in a helicopter before. The pilot was nice and took me to check out some landmarks in my area—it was a completely different experience to see my area from the air rather than my tower.
There were other cool things, but they become standard (the job is just that epic—who else considers watching bears a regular thing?) and this ride in the helicopter was out of the norm for me and completely made my day.
What are some of the challenges you have faced?
It is a fairly isolated position to work in—I think my first year I got through the first three months fine, but the last month I felt so unfocused and lonely it was awful! So it definitely was a challenge to push through that last four weeks. But after the first year I think you adjust—the end of the season tends to sneak up on me now and I never get bored.
The other work-related challenges didn’t become much of a problem. Any issues with equipment or procedures are easy to sort out if you call a neighboring tower and ask for advice—even if the lookout you call doesn’t know how to help they usually can direct you to which tower you need to contact instead.
What do you do in your spare time while you are out there? Do you find it difficult to pass the time?
I bake a lot. I am known as the “baking tower” in camp. I also garden, draw, play guitar, go for hikes, take photographs, read…there is actually no limit to what you can do out there if you can bring it out to the tower, or up the tower! I don’t find it difficult to pass time. I actually bring out projects to do but never get them done during the summer because I get distracted. And nothing beats sitting with tea and just watching whatever is happening in the woods around you. I got to watch a mama bear and three cubs for over two hours; it’s so amazing to get that firsthand experience. I had no idea that cubs could climb trees so fast!
What qualities make up an ideal candidate for a lookout observer?
I believe that being independent, a hard worker, a good communicator, diligent, and self motivating are awesome qualities to have if you are applying for a lookout position. You are pretty much on your own, so how you behave when there is no one looking over your shoulder is important. Also, enjoying the outdoors might come in handy…
What are some of your favourite aspects of working in wildfire management?
I really love the people. Because of the type of work we do you get some really chill, down to earth coworkers who come from all over the place and have some amazing stories. It’s nice when they come to the tower site and you can have a sit and chat with them.
It’s also really rewarding to be part of the process of detecting fires and be able to watch the progress as the fire gets under control and then extinguished. It’s a rush to get that detection message in as quickly and accurately as you can, and watching storms from inside your tower cupola is a thrill too!
What do you do in the off-season?
I’m a substitute teacher right now, seeing how that works. My goal is to balance teaching with traveling so I can have some adventures during the winter and then spend the summer at my tower.
What do you like about living in a forested area?
I love hiking! I love bird watching and tracking animals and taking pictures of what’s growing. And clouds…I have a ridiculous amount of pictures of the sky. And I think you’d be hard pressed to find a job that puts you in such an amazing location where you can do all this after your work is done. It’s much harder to work in the city and then go out of your way to reach some woods where you can’t hear a highway.
What advice do you have for someone considering becoming a lookout observer?
Try it! You’ll never know how well you fit the job until you give it a try. Once you’re in, make connections with veteran lookout observers and the other employees so you have touchstones if you need support or help troubleshooting. I think that’s a common stereotype with this job—that you have to be this awesome lone ranger type with crazy survival skills. You don’t; some independence is necessary but you learn as you go too.
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The deadline to apply for Lookout Observer positions is January 15. For more information and to apply, visit Alberta Wildfire.