During severe storms, the light had to be kept in operation 24 hours a day until the storm was over. The most obvious part of the keeper’s duties was to keep the light operating according to the daily schedule, which would vary from station to station, depending on geographic location, typical weather conditions, and other factors. ![]() Although a keeper was responsible for making repairs and well as other routine duties, each one also had to be prepared to respond to emergencies, including shipwrecks. Typically, the keeper’s day began before dawn and ended well past dusk. Coast Guard took over responsibility in 1939.Ī keeper’s job was not quite a 24-hour job, but it could be. The care of the nation’s lighthouses moved from agency to agency until 1910, when Congress created the Bureau of Lighthouses. Lighthouse keepers became civil service employees in 1896. Keepers at first worked under the authority of a local Collector of Customs, though the Collector’s role declined over time as the business of maintaining lighthouses became more professionalized. The Service was the first Public Works Act of the first United States Congress it authorized the transfer of existing lighthouses from the jurisdiction of individual states to the federal government. "We now have dozens of new applicants, and there is a hope that the tide has turned," said the Coast Guard statement.Most lighthouse keepers as we think of them were employees of the United States Lighthouse Service, founded in 1789. The Coast Guard says it continues to adjust recruiting efforts and has made improvements to pay to attract new lightkeepers. The situation also poses more of safety risk with the winter storm season approaching, Tchir said, adding bush pilots often call light stations for weather reports ahead of flights to remote areas. "The members who are out there on the lights are taking less vacation than they should just because they know there is no one to replace them and they don't want that light station to be closed down for any length of time." ![]() Out-of-service weather sites put pilots in 'dangerous position,' says float plane operator.lighthouses have remained operational to provide navigational aids to mariners, the statement said.īut the lack of available lightkeepers to fill in for leave is putting extra stress and strain on those who work in the remote, isolated locations, Tchir said. It declined to identify the affected lighthouses for security reasons.ĭespite the lightkeeper shortage, all B.C. In a statement, the agency said no light stations are currently vacant, but there has been a recurring staffing gap at one site and a short-term gap in staffing at another location. The Canadian Coast Guard confirms it is dealing with a staffing shortage for B.C. ![]() There's an aging workforce here at the light stations." "It's coming to a critical mass point here where we are losing bodies. More retirements are coming. Lighthouses on the East and West Coasts were almost de-staffed entirely eight years ago, but the federal government opted to keep the positions in the name of maritime safety.īut since then, Tchir says the Canadian Coast Guard has not effectively recruited to deal with retirements and attrition. Lighthouse de-staffing program cancelled by DFO."We do have one station right now that is temporarily closed, because they can't staff it." "At this point, there are rotational closures because of staffing levels," said Berry Tchir, regional vice-president for the Pacific region. The Union of Canadian Transportation Employees says more than a dozen of the 54 permanent lightkeeping positions at B.C.'s 27 lighthouses are vacant, and a relief pool designed to fill in staffing gaps is empty. ![]() coast is calling on the Canadian Coast Guard to deal with what it describes as "critical" staffing shortages. The union that represents lighthouse keepers on the B.C.
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