The Jacob Lake lookout tower has been used by lone fire lookouts for more than half a century. Built in 1934 during the Great Depression, the 80-foot-high steel tower still serves as a lookout tower today. Vigilant lookouts spot and plot fires from on high, using the Osborne fire-finder to locate any fires they see. Although towers were once the main way fires were spotted, aircraft and satellite imagery are increasingly used to spot and monitor fires.