Six pubcasting towers in the line of wildfire on Mt. Wilson

The situation on Mt. Wilson, where six Los Angeles area pubcasting outlets have transmitters, is increasingly dire, according to the Los Angeles Times. Fire fighters were taken off the mountain this morning because it was too dangerous to have them working so close to the tower facilities. “There is a good chance the fire will hit Mt. Wilson today,” said Ray Dombroski, spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. Pubcasting stations with towers in jeopardy include KOCE-TV in Orange County; KLCS-TV, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District; Pacifica Radio’s KPFK; classical KUSC-FM; and, as previously reported, KPCC in Pasadena and KCET-TV. Scott Fybush, a broadcast journalist who tracks and blogs about radio transmission facilities, provided the list of pubcasters on Mt. Wilson. KUSC has a back-up transmission site on Mt. Harvard, which he described as a “hilltop about half a mile south of the main Mount Wilson towers.” KPFK posted a photo of the tower site, taken this morning through clouds of smoke. This Facebook page is posting regular updates on the fires around the antenna farm. Earlier today, a commander told KPCC’s Patricia Nazario there’s “absolutely nothing they can do to keep the fire from consuming Mt. Wilson.” Full audio of her report is here. Earlier item here.