Yellowstone confirms fire tower was destroyed by lightning

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park officials confirmed that a lightning strike sparked a fire that destroyed a historic lookout tower during a severe thunderstorm.

Park staff have cleaned up the site and repaired a radio repeater at the burned-out Mount Holmes Fire Lookout, but there are no plans to restore the building.

An employee manning the lookout on top of Wyoming’s Mount Washburn reported the fire July 16. The tower, which burned to the ground, was built in 1931 at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.

Park officials have reopened the summit and the Mount Holmes Trail.