Paul, 74, and Leona, 69, spend up to six weeks of their summer volunteering to live in and spot fires from an elevated observatory. This year the Turleys celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and sixth season watching for forest fires together at Benchmark. Built in 1969, Benchmark replaced a former lookout on Glade Mountain.

The couple started volunteering in 1988, after Leona read an article in the Denver Rocky Mountain News that advertised the position. Paul said they had always wanted to spend a summer in a fire tower, so they jumped at the chance even though Leona had just had hip surgery.

"We’re both outdoor people," he said.

Toni Kelly, a visitor information specialist with the Dolores Ranger District, said volunteers are an essential part of finding and fighting fires.

Once they spot smoke, Paul or Leona track it through a degree finder, and then estimate how far the fire is from the tower. After they map the smoke, they call the coordinates in to the Durango Interagency Dispatch Center. Leona said this season they have been the first to report five or six fires.

Not only serious about fire-watching, they both take an avid interest in wildlife. In 1998, Leona saw 16 black bears, and Paul is a bird-watcher.

Paul, a retired electrician, was born in St. Louis, but said he has been trying to get to a smaller town ever since. "And this is as small as I get - two people."

The tower has most of the comforts of home: gas stove, heater, double bed, water pump, and a pulley system to bring up heavy supplies. Visits to the outhouse require a trip up and down four flights of stairs, but the Turleys say they don’t mind.