Cape Breton lighthouse to be moved before it falls off cliff

A Cape Breton community is close to saving a 125-year-old lighthouse perched on an erodingcliff's edge.

A contractor will be moving theGabaruslighthouse next week, saysthe chair of theGabarusLighthouse Society, which manages the building.

"This lighthouse is really the heart of our community. It draws people toGabarusand it's our heart," JanetMcgillensaid Wednesday. "We need to save it."

Gabarus, N.S., is a small fishing village about 40 kilometres south of Sydney.

The historic lighthouse the only in N.S. with ahexagonal shape is in danger of falling off the cliff as it erodes,Mcgillensaid. It sits only two metres from the edge above an 18-metre drop into the Atlantic Ocean.

The group won $50,000 in a national contest this summer to pay for the restoration.

• Photos: Gabarus lighthouse gets beacon of hope thanks to students

They're hired local contractor Jim Demeyere, who has already started work.

"They've straightened it already,"Mcgillensaid.

'All of our lighthouses need to be saved all across Canada'

The next step is tolift it up andslide long steel beamsunder it, society member Tim Menk said.

The contractor will "literally slide the lighthouse from its current position to where it will sit on its new foundation," about 12 metres away, Menk said.

Once the move is complete, the society will focus on a major restoration project, including windows, sandblasting and painting,Mcgillensaid.

"This is just one lighthouse out of many," McGillen said. "All of our lighthouses need to be saved all across Canada, and they are all in danger."

The hope is to finish work for the community's 300th anniversary in 2016.