Weekly Lightings Of 'Eye of Diablo' Beacon To End

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Save Mount Diablo volunteers and staff have lit the Mount Diablo Summit Beacon — the "Eye of Diablo" — since April 12, 2020, from sunset Sunday night until sunrise Monday morning.

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the weekly lightings. It will also mark the conclusion of the lighting, the nonprofit group announced Thursday in a news release.

"We light the Mount Diablo Beacon to thank our heroes, to honor those who have passed and are suffering, to bring our communities together, and to remind people to look up to the light and the healing power of nature," said Ted Clement, executive director of Save Mount Diablo.

The "Eye of Diablo" will be lit one last time just after sunset Sunday, April 11. Then, shortly after sunrise Monday, Save Mount Diablo personnel will rest the Beacon.

The decision to end the lightings was based on the increasing distribution of coronavirus vaccines and tier-level improvements in the San Francisco Bay Area

"I want to thank two special Save Mount Diablo volunteers, John Gallagher and Dick Heron, who helped me with this year-long effort," Clement said.

The organization said it will continue its regular care and maintenance of the historic "Eye of Diablo" as it has done for years.

The Beacon was originally lit by Charles Lindbergh in 1928 to assist in the early days of commercial aviation. The Beacon shone from the summit of Mount Diablo each night until Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It was not relit until Dec. 7, 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, attended a ceremony on Mount Diablo’s summit in commemoration of the survivors of Pearl Harbor. He suggested that the Beacon be lit every Dec. 7 to honor those who served and sacrificed.

Save Mount Diablo, California State Parks, the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors Chapter 5, California State University–East Bay (Concord Campus), and others organize the annual lighting ceremony of the Beacon every Dec. 7 in honor of the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.