Disney’s KABC and PBS SoCal stations lose over-the-air signal from Mt. Wilson amid Eaton fire
Walt Disney Co.’s KABC-TV Channel 7 station, which uses communications towers near Mt. Wilson, lost its over-the-air signal Friday morning as the Eaton fire continued its rampage through mountainous terrain.
Separately, radio station KLOS-FM 95.5, which also uses transmission facilities in the Angeles National Forest, went off the air overnight. Public broadcaster PBS SoCal lost signals for for nearly 24 hours before transmissions were restored Friday morning.
KABC confirmed that it was “experiencing an issue with the transmitter,” without providing details of the problem.
The Eaton fire came perilously close to the huge phalanx of mountain-top transmitters on Thursday.
Television and radio broadcast engineers, including for Nexstar’s KTLA-TV Channel 5, Paramount’s KCBS-TV Channel 2 and KCAL-TV Channel 9, Fox’s KTTV-TV Channel 11 and public radio outlet LAist/KPCC-FM 89.3, sweated throughout much of the day as they watched the fire’s progress. The communications towers are near the popular Mt. Wilson Observatory.
The transmitters escaped damage by flames.
While KABC lost its signal transmission, the station provided digital streams of its morning newscasts directly to cable and satellite TV operators, Disney-owned Hulu Live TV and other streaming apps.
Only viewers who rely on the over-the-air antennas for television found the station blacked out.
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“Teams are obviously working hard to get the feed back up for over the air viewers and are hopeful we have it back up soon,” an ABC spokesperson said in an email. The issue was related to the fires, the spokesperson said, but equipment was not burned.
The company directed viewers to the KABC website and streaming apps.
Meanwhile, Meruelo Group’s KLOS-FM 95.5 radio transmitter controls were disrupted around 2 a.m. Friday and the station went off the air. Station engineers learned that the generator it was using for backup power had failed,, according to a station executive.
Station employees were working to resolve the issue Friday morning.
Though there is still a long way to go, there are signs fire conditions are easing. Ten people have died and more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed and roughly 150,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
It was unclear what caused PBS SoCal’s transmission issues. Station signals were largely restored by 9:25 a.m. Friday, according to a representative.
Local TV stations disrupted their regular programming to provide around-the-clock fire coverage Wednesday and Thursday as their news crews fanned out across the fire-ravaged region. Stations that provide network programming had largely returned to their national programs, including “The Price Is Right” on CBS and “The View” on ABC, by Friday morning.
The Eaton fire has burned 13,690 acres since it began Tuesday at 6:18 p.m., according to Friday morning estimates. Mt. Wilson sits near the northeastern edge of the fire. Vegetation was already cut away to provide a buffer for the transmission tower complex, which serves most of the local broadcast stations. The fire containment efforts were helped by aircraft water drops.
“We are grateful to firefighters & mountain staff for their dedication to keeping the mountain safe,” Mt. Wilson Observatory staff wrote in an X post late Thursday. Earlier in the day, observatory staff reported the facility had lost power but there were firefighters on the grounds.
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