Eaton Fire Puts L.A. Broadcast Towers at Risk

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One of the fires currently raging in Los Angeles poses a risk of causing several television and radio broadcasting facilities to go off-air.

The Eaton Fire, causing destruction in Altadena, is now threatening Mount Wilson, a location known for its multiple broadcast towers. Notably, several major L.A. television stations such as NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS, KTLA, and Univision’s KMEX have transmitters on this mountain peak.

Moreover, several FM radio stations broadcast their signals from the peak of Mount Wilson. These include well-known stations such as KCBS 93.1 and KIIS 102.7.

On Thursday, KTLA broadcasted real-time video from Mount Wilson’s summit, capturing the advancing flames nearing the transmission towers.

Thursday saw KTLA transmitting live videos taken from Mt. Wilson’s peak, depicting the fire moving towards the communication towers.

Or simply:

Live footage captured by KTLA on Thursday from Mount Wilson showed the fire getting close to the towers.

The anchor warned, “These repeaters towers pose a significant safety risk across much of southern California, especially during emergencies. They’re not just used by news and radio stations in Southern California, but also by emergency services like the police and fire department for communication. During this crisis, you may have noticed our live shots frequently approaching these repeater stations. The signals from the transponders located in lower elevations reach these towers, allowing them to transmit messages over vast distances.

Currently, the Mt. Wilson Observatory is under evacuation, housing only essential personnel and firefighters. On their Instagram page, they shared that the Eaton fire is advancing towards Mount Wilson. Firefighters are present on the grounds, but the observatory is without power, restricting communication. They are keeping a close eye on the situation and will provide updates as possible. Thank you for your concern.

If the fire were to engulf the broadcast towers, it’d knock out our favorite shows on TV and radio until they could switch on backup towers somewhere else. However, since many of us don’t rely on antennas for our TV signal, we usually get it through cable, satellite, or streaming platforms, which should remain unaffected.

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2025-01-10 00:54