HAYDEN - For decades the Spades Mountain Lookout stood atop the tall green ridgeline to the east of Hayden Lake.

The tower came down this month.

"As more roads were built, population increased and aircraft became more reliable, we had more efficient ways of getting fire reports," said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. "With all those changes, the number of fire lookouts has been steadily decreasing over the decades."

Today, the majority of fire reports come via 911.

As for Spades Lookout, it had not been in use since the 1970s. In that time it fell victim to vandals, who cut away at its legs and stabilizing wires.

"It had finally become so dangerous that we were forced to remove it before somebody was hurt or killed," Kirchner said last week.

There are no plans for the site at this time. A U.S. Forest Service contractor demolished and removed the tower.

"It provided such an incredible view of the valley," said Chris Celentano, a Coeur d'Alene resident who visited the tower multiple times each month in the summer and fall. "It was a really cool place historically."

He said he plans to do everything he can to have a replica built there. He's now organizing a social media campaign.

"I believe a fire tower belongs there," Celentano said. "It's part of our local history."

He has spent a lot of time up there taking photographs. From there the Northern Lights have been visible. Visitors could see west to Spokane.

"It's a really special place," he said. "It's hard to find that kind of view that close to town."

Gary Weber, a member of the North Idaho-Montana Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, said the organization attempted for several years in the late 1990s to generate interest in a partnership with the Forest Service to refurbish the lookout.

It could have become a rental or put to another use, Weber said.

"Some officials were adamant already then that the tower should be removed," Weber said. "And the rest of it is another sad, frustrating story."

The spot was first developed in 1923 as a camp lookout. Three years later, a 50-foot pole tower with a 7-foot-by-7-foot cab went up.

Two years later, a log cabin for living quarters was added.

In 1941, a 54-foot steel tower was built, according to the organization's records.

That steel tower was moved to Long Mountain in Bonner County in 1963.

That year, the 67-foot timber tower was built at the mountain's 5,038-foot elevation.