Ward Pound Ridge Fire tower construction progresses

Portions of the new fire tower at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation will be erected once cement cures and milder weather arrives.

BY THANE GRAUEL

Like much of the wildlife and vegetation at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, work on a new fire tower atop the park’s highest peak has slowed for the season.

Work was progressing rapidly in the fall on preparations to erect a new tower off the Blue Trail, where a 60-foot fire tower had been placed a century ago. The original was decommissioned in 1971, and eventually dismantled in 1982.

“Three sections of the tower are now assembled at the final work site, although they will not be lifted into position by a crane until additional construction work is done,” Park Superintendent Taro Ietaka told The Recorder in December.

“At the moment waiting for the cement at base to cure,” Ietaka said. “Some metal elements will need to be fabricated so that will take a few weeks. Will be dependent on weather as well — we are not able to plow/salt to that location so work will need to pause if there is snow or ice.”

The tower’s location at the top of what’s called Cross River Mountain on old maps. The original tower allowed views of up to 100 miles on a clear day, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills and the Appalachian Mountains.

The summit is about a mile’s hike from the parking on Pell Hill.

Ieteka said the tower should be completed sometime this year. An event to mark the occasion will be announced.