Buck Rock Fire Lookout is now in service

An important firefighting resource in the Sequoia National Forest is now ready for fire season.

The Buck Rock Fire Lookout went into service over the weekend.

The mountaintop sentry sits at more than 8,500 where staff and volunteers watch over the forest and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The 100-year-old lookout usually opens in early June, but the heavy winter snowfall delayed the opening this year until July.

Buck Rock's sister lookouts in the national forest opened earlier.