The Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association’s second fire tower is officially under construction just off the Overlook and Deadening trails, but it is not yet safe to climb.

It was two years ago this month that CRATA announced the reconstruction of a fire tower at Lake Martin’s southern shoreline. Dismantled in Virginia and moved to Alabama, the 110-foot tower spent two years undergoing repairs and treatments; after that, its foundations were dug and formed. Only then were parts of the tower moved to the 12-plus acres of Martin Dam project land that will be the tower’s permanent home. This tower is 20 feet taller than the nonprofit organization’s Smith Mountain fire tower, which volunteers restored on site near Sandy Creek more than a decade ago.