More BC Lightstations to be De-Staffed

[EngNate]

Fourteen years after opposition from the public stopped a plan to de-staff lightstations in British Columbia, Lightkeepers at Trial Is. (Victoria), Entrance Is. (Nanaimo) and Dryad Point (Bella Bella) have been told that their stations will be de-manned by the end of the current fiscal year. Several more are to follow soon, all of the lights that do not require generators to operate will be de-staffed, essentially bringing the 100 year tradition of lightkeeping to an end.

[GordMay]

Ron & Rene Amundsen live on Bonilla Island. They maintain pages on the BC lights and the automation issue.

Goto ➥ Lighthouses of British Columbia

[EngNate]

In 1995 the public that responded was decidedly opposed to de-staffing the lights. The Coast Guard says that the level of service to mariners will not be diminished - that is, the lights will continue to be lit (assuming nobody makes off with the solar panels). But, the eyes and ears will be gone. Those lighthouse weather observations every three hours from 4:30am to 10:30pm are taken and filed by live people that actually take an interest in those who use them. But that's not a Coast Guard service, that's Envrionment Canada... It's remarkable how conditions can differ between stations, and how different these observations can be from the forecast. A lighthouse weather report is actual, not predicted. To some, it's comforting to pass by a lighthouse knowing that there's eyes there watching to see them pass safely.

News: Trial Island lighthouse, three others, to lose keepers

[jackdale]

Sometimes I think that the sematic difference between "lighthouse" and "lightstation" is not accidental. It is a much easier to imagine an unattended lighstation than an unattended lighthouse.