County men to repair fire watch tower

ST. AGATHA – Roger Morneault will lead four, possibly seven, friends starting this morning on a trek from the St. John Valley south and west through the northern Maine woods to repair a run-down fire tower more than 700 feet above the crystal-clear waters of Allagash Lake.

While the 28-foot-high tower is no longer used in the forest fire vigil of the vast forestland west of Chamberlain Lake, it is a site where canoers and hikers can glimpse the vastness of area forests, lakes and streams, said the St. Agatha native this week.

It is a site dear to the St. John Valley native who has canoed and hiked the area for the last 15 years. On a visit there last summer, he found the tower in dire need of guy wires to keep it stable and some remedial work on the roof of the hut atop the tower.

“I’m just afraid it would blow away without the guy wires,” Morneault said while discussing his endeavor. “That tower and at least two others are in need of work in those woods.

“I made some telephone inquiries, and after weeks of digging around, I got permission to make the repairs on the state-owned facility,” he said. “It will be a long, hard weekend of work.”

Joining Morneault on the excursion will be Dan Daley, Mike Sirois, Chris Chiasson and Jason Gagnon. The crew also may include Dan Demontigny, Dan Dumond and Gary Guerrette, all of the St. John Valley.

He expects the days will be hard, with all the travel on foot, but the work to get the guy wires installed should not be a difficult task.

The crew will have to carry the guy wires, turnbuckles, anchors and roofing material to the site from their Allagash Lake campsite. They also will carry an electrical generator, a hammer drill and other hand tools.

Allagash Lake and the tower where the work will be done is located in Township 7 Range 14 in Piscataquis County. The crew will stay with a forester at a state forestry camp on the shore of the lake.

On the mile-long hike, with a vertical climb of 720 feet from the lake, each man will carry 50 to 75 pounds of materials and tools. It could take more than one trip to bring the materials and tools. They are leaving the valley today, expecting to get to the lake and do the work Saturday and Sunday.

While looking into repairing the tower, Morneault said, he learned the state wants to have the towers repaired. They sought bids for the work, but the cost, according to Morneault, was astronomical. He and his friends are doing it for the cost of materials purchased for the job.

The tower itself, made up of a steel tower with a wooden deck and hut atop, is 28 feet high. He is bringing along a harness, lanyards and rope for safety while the work is being done. For some of the work, the men will be many feet off the ground.

“While there are other towers, like at Deboullie Mountain in far northern Maine, that need work, this one seemed like a good place to start,” he said. “While I have been to Allagash Lake several times over the years, this summer was my first hike to the fire tower.

“The tower needs help,” he said. “It will be very satisfying to do this.”

He said the guys going along are his cronies, all hard-core men who like the outdoors. They plan to do other towers in the future.

He admits the project is larger in scope than he originally thought because things have to be done according to specifications. He had to find materials specific to this kind of work.

He said all that made it a fun learning experience.

“We go there [to Allagash Lake] on a regular basis, why not do something good for the area?” he said. “The project goes on, no matter what, weather or not.”

At one time, the state had nearly 150 fire watch towers across the Maine woods. Of that number, 25 were located in Aroostook County. About half of the Aroostook County towers are still standing. Some have been kept up, while others need some help.

Morneault looks at the project as one that helps protect a part of forest history.