Posted on 08/31/2009 10:08:16 AM PDT by Smogger
If flames were to reach the top of Mt. Wilson, home to the region's TV and FM radio transmitters, what would happen?
Severe damage could disrupt cellphone service, as well as television and radio programming for those who receive signals over the air. It also could interrupt some emergency law enforcement communications.
...
Mt. Wilson is home to more than two dozen towers that occupy its peak just north of Sierra Madre. It supports antennas that beam signals for television and FM radio stations throughout the region. The fire also threatens the historic solar observatory atop the mountain, which houses multimillion-dollar astronomy projects for UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley. Georgia State University also operates a $20-million facility and a powerful telescope array at the observatory.
...
KCBS-TV Channel 2 and KABC-TV Channel 7 said that viewers with cable or satellite television will still receive a signal, but those who get theirs over the airwaves might lose their connection.
"A lot of people think of an observatory as one dome, but Mt. Wilson Observatory is actually a 40-acre tract of land with 50 to 60 buildings on it," McAlister said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Look on the bright side. If Mt. Wilson goes down nobody in Los Angeles who relies on an antenna would be able to see Katie Couric. Now that's a plus. Maybe it's worth it. (Just kidding.)
Not to make light of a bad situation, but this country would improve significantly and rapidly if all television broadcasting went dead.
Obamas fault
I heard this morning that the flames are moving faster than people could run. Two firefighters killed.
Prayers for any FReepers out there.
USAA is already having difficulty receiving info from the area.
I’m sure Obama will save them.
“...disrupt cellphone service, as well as television and radio programming...”
So everyone will have to go back to playing nintendo and using instant messenger. Whatever will we do.
I confess it doesn’t seem like any great loss to me.
It’s always sad when people lose their homes. But their cell phones?
And, once again, it seems doubtful that this would be happening if it weren’t for the green idiots who refuse to let anyone burn brush or clear out deadwood as a preventive measure.
Were those two actually killed by the fire, or are you referring to the two who rolled their truck?
With all the PSA’s on clearing brush around your property and the fire department fining homeowners that don’t clear brush, the antenna facility has been left alone and brush was not cleared and there is millions and millions of dollars in equipment there worth not losing.
They have sprayed the entire area with aircraft drops and are hoping for the best.
That stuff atop Mt. Wilson has been up there for decades and decades......hopefully there have been appropriate precautions taken during all those years for such an eventuality.
Two firefighters killed when they lost control of their vehicle and it went off the road.
The ones killed by their truck.
Leave the place littered with Brush/Fuel is asking for a problem.
Is brush-clearing "mandatory" or "prohibited" these days?
Does Hollywood still know how to make a movie without cellphones?
That is a good question - depends on where - its suppose to be mandatory however if an envirowacko hears of it they generally file a lawsuit to stop it for the natcatcher or mouse or bird.
Interesting to watch an old show like Kojak, which was on in the mid-70's. If one of the detectives needed to call in to headquarters, and a patrol car was not available, he had to look for a phone booth.
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