Mount Diablo Beacon to shine every Sunday as reminder ‘we are not alone’ through pandemic

The beacon atop Mount Diablo will be lit after sunset on Easter, this Sunday, and will be illuminated each succeeding Sunday until the new coronavirus crisis has ended, representatives of nonprofit group Save Mount Diablo said Friday.

Save Mount Diablo staff and volunteers, in coordination with their partners at California State Parks, will light the famed beacon at Mount Diablo State Park each Sunday and turn it off at sunrise Monday,.

Physical distancing will be followed throughout, organizers said.

Ted Clement, executive director of Save Mount Diablo, said in a statement:

“Lighting the Beacon every Sunday is a way to honor our heroes in this global pandemic struggle, to pay our respects to the dead and those suffering, to lift our eyes to higher ground and the light and be reminded of the healing power of nature and our Mount Diablo, and to bring our communities together during this difficult time.”

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

The current lighting effort has been coordinated with the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 5.

Eduardo Guaracha, Diablo Range Superintendent of California State Parks, said:

“As we look up in the sky, let this beacon remind us we are not alone. Our thoughts and support are with the heroes, healthcare and emergency workers, and all those affected by this worldwide pandemic. Let the light give us hope for a better future and remind us to keep our heads and spirits up,”

The Beacon on Mount Diablo was originally installed and illuminated in 1928 as one of five installed along the West Coast by Standard Oil of California to aid transcontinental aviation and is the only one known to still be operational.