Fire Threatens Mt. Wilson Broadcast Transmitters as L.A. TV and Radio Stations on Alert; Observatory Evacuated
UPDATE Jan. 10: KABC (ABC 7) and PBS SoCal’s signals returned to the air on Friday afternoon.
EARLIER Jan. 10: KABC-TV was off the air this morning as the impact of the nearby Eaton fire likely led to a malfunctioning pump, taking down the station’s broadcast signal. According to insiders, engineers expected that the over-the-air signal might return later this afternoon. Most of KABC’s viewership isn’t impacted, as KABC is still fed via fiber to cable and satellite, as well as Hulu Live TV and other DMVPDs. And of KABC’s newscasts are also streaming on the station’s website, as well as its mobile and connected TV apps. About 10% to 12% of the Los Angeles market still watches broadcast via over-the-air signals, and those audiences are impacted.
Viewers online have also reported that PBS SoCal’s over-the-air signals for KCET (Channel 28) and KOCE (Channel 50) were also down for a period of time. (The stations now appear to be back on the air.) On the PBS SoCal website, the stations wrote: “Due to the ongoing fires, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus are temporarily unavailable via over-the-air antenna. You can still watch us on cable, satellite, or stream on the PBS app or pbssocal.org/live. Our team is working diligently to restore the over-the-air signal as quickly as possible.”
Fears that Mt. Wilson might be engulfed by Eaton fire have been alleviated, however, as the latest reports show that fire crews have managed to keep the fire at bay. According to a Instagram post by the Mt. Wilson Observatory, “We are relieved to report that the flare-up of the Eaton Fire near the Observatory seems to be under control at the moment. There are fires below the towers and parking lot but fire crews are monitoring the situation, letting the fire consume the fuel. There are 14 or so trucks, 80 or so firefighters, from around the state. We are eternally grateful to the firefighters and our mountain staff for their dedication to keeping the mountain safe. We will continue to monitor the situation as things can change quickly.”
EARLIER: The devastating Eaton fire is now taking aim at Mt. Wilson, threatening the antenna farm and broadcasting transmitters located up there, as well as the historic Mt. Wilson observatory. Should the fire reach the top of the mountain, it could pose major communications issues and limit the broadcasting capabilities of Los Angeles’ major TV and radio stations.
According to KCBS/KCAL news, hand crews have arrived at Mt. Wilson to fight the blaze.
Most of Los Angeles’ TV stations broadcast from Mt. Wilson, including KCBS (CBS 2), KNBC (NBC 4), KTLA (Channel 5), KABC (ABC 7), KCAL (Channel 9), KTTV (Fox 11), KCOP (Channel 13), KCET (PBS SoCal 2 Channel 28), KOCE (PBS SoCal 1 Channel 50) and KMEX (Univision 34). FM stations broadcasting from there include KPCC-FM 89.3, KPFK-FM 90.7, KUSC-FM 91.5, KRRL-FM 92.3, KCBS-FM 93.1, KLLI-FM 93.9, KTWV 94.7, KLOS-FM 95.5, KNX-FM 97.1, KKLA-FM 99.5, KKLQ-FM 100.3, KRTH-FM 101.1, KSCA-FM 101.9, KIIS-FM 102.7, KOST-FM 103.5, KBIG-FM 104.3, KKGO-FM 105.1, KPWR-FM 105.9 and KLVE-FM 107.5.
Should the Mt. Wilson transmitting towers be destroyed by fire, local stations wouldn’t take as big a hit as they might have a few decades ago: Most cable, satellite and telco systems won’t be affected, as stations now deliver their feeds to providers via fiber-optic lines. And local TV stations now also share their live news broadcasts via streaming apps. But viewers who rely on over-the-air signals for their broadcast coverage would indeed need to temporarily find other ways to receive local TV fare — a serious concern during a major news event like the L.A. fires.
But while cable, satellite and streaming will keep TV viewership losses to a minimum, several L.A. FM stations wouldn’t be as lucky. Some of those stations already have auxiliary towers located elsewhere and could quickly get back on the air, but most likely at lesser power and with a smaller coverage area.
Many of the transmitting structures on Mt. Wilson were built with cinderblocks and other hardy materials, perhaps leaving engineers with some hope that fires won’t cause mass destruction. This isn’t the first time Mt. Wilson has been threatened by fire, most notably by the Station fire in 2009, which burned more than 160,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest. Another fire threatened the Mt. Wilson facilities in 2017, and then the Bobcat fire in 2020 burned nearly 116,000 acres nearby.
Meanwhile, the Mt. Wilson Observatory provided this update on its Instagram page: “As you may have seen on the news, the Eaton fire is approaching Mount Wilson. There are firefighters on the grounds but the power is out at the Observatory so communication is limited. We are monitoring the situation and will update here as we can. Thank you for your concern.” On Wednesday, the Observatory reported that most of its staff had been evacuated, with a skeleton crew keeping watch. “The Observatory is safe for now, although the webcam images from our tower cams look scary. We are in touch with mountain staff to receive updates.” The historic observatory first opened in 1904.
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