In 1919, a family resided in a government-owned cabin at the summit, which also served as a fire lookout.
The 12 feet (3.7 m) tall steel frame tower supporting the 13 by 13 feet (4.0 m × 4.0 m) cab was built in 1929.
The tower is at an elevation of 5,082 feet (1,549 m).
Arthur Story and his wife were among the first residents of the lookout.
The lookout was destroyed by the Marble Cone Fire in 1977 and rebuilt in 1978.
In 1984 the cab was replaced with a standard R-6 design which featured a cat walk and a flat roof.

The tower cab is accessible by a steep staircase of extremely narrow steps.
There is no running water, electrical service, air conditioning, or heating inside the cab.
Additionally, there is no cell phone service, landline telephone, or internet connectivity on Chews Ridge.
Communications are conducted with a battery-powered U.S. Forest Service radio.

Beginning in the 1940s, the tower was seasonally staffed by C. C. Yates and his wife of Arroyo Grande, California.
They continued to work seasonally through the 1950s.
The tower has not been staffed by the U.S. Forest Service since about 1990.
The Forest Service subsequently used the structure to house radio repeater equipment and to mount antennas.
In 2019, the California-South Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association reached an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to begin staffing the tower with volunteers.
They cleaned up the cabin, rehabilitated the pit toilet, reinstalled and refurbished the Osborne Fire Finder, and refurbished the tower inside and out.

The Forest Fire Lookout Association is training volunteers to serve as forest fire lookouts.
They began staffing the tower in August 2019.
Their goal is to staff the tower seven days per week from May through November.

The lookout atop Chews Peak was one of six active fire lookouts in the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest.
The others were located on Cone Peak, Ventana Double Cone, Junipero Serra Peak, Pinyon Peak, and Three Peaks.
In 1919, a family resided in a government-owned cabin at the summit, which also served as a fire lookout. The 12 feet (3.7 m) tall steel frame tower supporting the 13 by 13 feet (4.0 m × 4.0 m) cab was built in 1929. The tower is at an elevation of 5,082 feet (1,549 m). Arthur Story and his wife were among the first residents of the lookout. The lookout was destroyed by the Marble Cone Fire in 1977 and rebuilt in 1978. In 1984 the cab was replaced with a standard R-6 design which featured a cat walk and a flat roof.
The tower cab is accessible by a steep staircase of extremely narrow steps. There is no running water, electrical service, air conditioning, or heating inside the cab. Additionally, there is no cell phone service, landline telephone, or internet connectivity on Chews Ridge. Communications are conducted with a battery-powered U.S. Forest Service radio.
Beginning in the 1940s, the tower was seasonally staffed by C. C. Yates and his wife of Arroyo Grande, California. They continued to work seasonally through the 1950s. The tower has not been staffed by the U.S. Forest Service since about 1990. The Forest Service subsequently used the structure to house radio repeater equipment and to mount antennas. In 2019, the California-South Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association reached an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to begin staffing the tower with volunteers. They cleaned up the cabin, rehabilitated the pit toilet, reinstalled and refurbished the Osborne Fire Finder, and refurbished the tower inside and out.
The Forest Fire Lookout Association is training volunteers to serve as forest fire lookouts. They began staffing the tower in August 2019. Their goal is to staff the tower seven days per week from May through November.
The lookout atop Chews Peak was one of six active fire lookouts in the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. The others were located on Cone Peak, Ventana Double Cone, Junipero Serra Peak, Pinyon Peak, and Three Peaks.
Chews Ridge Lookout