Yaquina Head Lighthouse re-opened last weekend to tours after being closed for 3 months. The 1872 lighthouse in Newport has been repainted.
Oregon's tallest lighthouse was covered for 90 days during painting. Yaquina Head Site Manager Timothy Fisher says the paint used is silicate based and works similar to the whitewash used in the past. The new technique was also used on the recently restored Heceta Head lighthouse. This paint is expected to allow the bricks to breathe as they're exposed to rain, sea spray and wind. The Fresnel lens was also re-lit this weekend.
Fisher: "It's still considered an active aid to navigation, mostly by the local fisherman. They use it sort of as their guide. Especially if they're coming in late at night or taking off first thing in the morning. It's sort of the last thing they see and the first thing they see when they come back."
Fisher says having the lighthouse re-opened gives people access to tours once again and to a viewpoint of the ocean that was off-limits during the closure. The lighthouse re-opened Sunday and Fisher says there was a line for the first tours despite the Super Bowl.
