Tinfoil Protects Washington Ranger Station During Fire

Firefighters used tinfoil to protect a historic Washington ranger station from a wildfire south of Mount Adams this week.

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources says the tiny Gotchen Guard Station was built in 1909 and used as as the headquarters for the Mount Adams District of Gifford Pinchot National Forest through 1916. Its rangers administered grazing activities, a primary use of the national forest through the 1940s.

The U.S. Forest Service uses the “aluminized structure wrap” to protect historic buildings from radiant heat and burning embers.

The Gotchen Guard Station is one of only eight early Forest Service stations that still exist in the Pacific Northwest.