Fire Island Lighthouse tower to reopen Wednesday, National Park Service says

The Fire Island Lighthouse tower, the 168-foot landmark temporarily shuttered earlier this year due to damage from a storm, will reopen Wednesday, the National Park Service said.

Visitors will be able to resume touring Long Island’s tallest lighthouse on Wednesday morning, months after it was closed when heavy winds on March 4 caused a concrete panel to slide down the structure. 

Tours will take place between 10 to 3:30 p.m. Holiday hours will vary. 

“We are excited the work to stabilize the outer facade of the lighthouse tower is complete,” said Scott McCormick, acting superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore. “Visitors are now able to climb the steps and take in the vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and Great South Bay.”

There are 182 steps to the top of the lighthouse, according to the National Park Service. 

Although the lighthouse was found to be structurally sound in the aftermath of the storm, officials said they would move forward with repairs in two phases: one that included removing brick rubble from the base of the tower.

The second phase included the stabilization of the remaining panels, said Nick Clemons, chief of interpretation education and volunteers at Fire Island National Seashore. The Keeper’s Quarters museum and the lens building remained open throughout the work, he said.

Construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1858 and it replaced one that had been built nearby, on the westernmost end of Fire Island, in 1826. 

Tony Femminella, executive director of the Fire Island Preservation Society, which helps keep up the lighthouse, said the reopening marks a “fantastic moment for us” in part because the lighthouse had been their main source of income.

“We're excited about it,” he said, later noting that: “Everybody has been waiting for this to happen.”

Tower tour fees are $10 for adults; and $5 for seniors 65 and older, veterans, and Scout groups, according to the National Park Service. Admission is free with ID for active military personnel. 

Femminella added that visitors should be patient because the demand to get back into the tower may be high. 

“Just be patient and really enjoy the beauty of Fire Island National Seashore,” he said.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.