02:58 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Associated Press

From Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

The Assateague Lighthouse

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) -- The red-and-white striped Assateague Island lighthouse, a beacon to tourists as well as sailors, is closed indefinitely because a piece of the structure's top catwalk fell off.

The trail leading to the lighthouse also is closed for safety reasons, said Sue Rice, acting refuge manager for the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds the lighthouse on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Metal from the catwalk surrounding the base of the light fell onto a lower catwalk a few feet below last week.

"The best we can tell, a small segment became loose and probably came down to the lower level," Rice said this week. "At this time, I couldn't speculate why or how it happened."

An engineer is to inspect the structural integrity of the lighthouse on Sunday. Rice tried to get the engineer to come earlier so the lighthouse could possibly be reopened for the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend but the engineer was busy.

Rice said the Coast Guard, which maintains the light, told her the missing metal would not affect the light or maintenance on it.

Rice declined to comment on how soon the lighthouse will be opened again.

"This lighthouse was pretty well built," she said. "It's not as though the metal on the catwalk was just bolted on. It comes all the way into the building."

The lighthouse was completed in 1867 and is about 140 feet tall.

Ownership of the lighthouse was handed over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2004 and for the first time in years, the lighthouse was opened to the public for tours. The keeper's quarters are used as seasonal housing for temporary refuge employees, volunteers and interns.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)