UPDATE: The lighthouse beacon is turning again
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is fixed and its beacon is rotating again.
According to Chief Petty Officer Joshua Canup of the United States Coast Guard’s Fifth District public affairs office, the initial belief after an inspection on Tuesday was that there was a problem with the motor, which was possibly related to the bearings grinding.
The U.S. Coast Guard repair crew believed that they had a fix in place, until they noticed that the light had stopped rotating again this morning. After they replaced a fuse, the lighthouse was back up and running.
The light stopped rotating on Sunday evening, April 24, for the second time this year. The beacon got stuck in place in late February and was out of commission for several days until the motor was replaced.
The National Park Service owns the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, but the Coast Guard maintains the beacon, since it is still considered an aid to navigation.
The lighthouse’s flashing beacon is lit by two back-to-back, 1,000-watt rotating lights. The lights are serviced by the Coast Guard once a year or as needed.
