on october 31, 2007, the high knob lookout tower was destroyed by arson. the tower was set on fire in the early hours of halloween morning. by the time the jefferson forest service and local fire departments arrived on scene, the fire tower was fully engulfed in flames, and could not be saved. firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the knob, which was suffering from drought conditions. in 2009 work began in earnest to replace the destroyed tower. a tower replacement project was spearheaded by the high knob enhancement corporation who raised required funding from donations. under the direction of the national park service hill studio architects and landscape architects submitted designs and construction documents for the new tower now roughly standing where the lost tower once stood. the tower was built by dot construction. the tower was completed on august 22, 2014. the new tower achieves accessibility for physically impaired visitors by conceiving a properly graded and surfaced loop trail that culminates in a bridge crossing which connects the tower with the trail.