ABC7 (KABC), the ABC affiliate station in Los Angeles, lost its over-the-air signal Friday morning as the Eaton Fire burned near the Mount Wilson observatory and communication towers in the Angeles National Forest.
Radio station KLOS-FM 95.5, which also uses transmission facilities in the Angeles National Forest, also went off the air overnight.
The Eaton Fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area burned extremely close to the radio and TV transmitter towers Thursday, which also include NBC, Fox, PBS stations, Nexstar’s KTLA-TV Channel 5, Paramount’s KCBS-TV Channel 2, KCAL-TV Channel 9 and other local stations, as well as LAist/KPCC-FM 89.3, KCBS 93.1 and KIIS 102.7. Fortunately, the transmitters were not damaged by the flames.
Disney-owned KABC confirmed that it was “experiencing an issue with the transmitter,” but did not provide details.
While the station lost its signal transmission, digital streams of its morning newscasts were provided directly to cable and satellite TV operators, Disney-owned Hulu Live TV and other streaming apps. The station was blacked out only for viewers who use over-the-air antennas for television.
Viewers also can tune in at abc7.com or via the ABC7 Los Angeles app.
“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 to the Los Angeles Times. The issue was related to the fires, the spokesperson said, but equipment was not burned.
The Eaton Fire, burning above Altadena and Pasadena, erupted Tuesday night amid fierce hurricane-level winds. It has charred nearly 14,000 acres as of Friday morning and is 3% contained. Five people have died in the fire and nearly 1,000 structures have been destroyed.
English (US) ·