Results Radio Fights Fire With Fervor
• Results Radio LLC‘s five-station group in Redding, CA has now resumed normal programming after recovering from the devastating Carr Fire, which, as of Wednesday, was 67% contained but has consumed 211,038 acres and destroyed over 1,000 homes, including those of two Results employees. Early in the fire, Results lost its transmitter sites on South Fork Mountain and Shasta Bally Mountain for four of its five stations: KNCQ (Q97), KEWB (Power 94.7), KHRD (Red 103.1) and KESR (107.1 BOB-FM), as shown in this photo. Fortunately, the site for KKXS (XS Sports 96.1) is on the opposite side of the valley and was never in danger.
For a week, the four impacted stations broadcast via a temporary “Cell On Wheels” (COW) tower set up the parking lot. The 106-foot structure weighs 14,000 pounds and was transported up Interstate 5 from Educational Media Foundation’s Sacramento headquarters. Four broadband vertical dipole antennas were spaced at the top, fed by four 300-watt transmitters.
Results Redding’s local airstaff performed 24/7 live coverage and updates from a single control room on five signals and Android/iOS apps. Q97’s Billy Pilgrim and Patrick John, Rick Healy, Logan Kane, Red 103.1’s Dave Tappan and Ryan O’Brien, Power 94.7’s Jeff Haber and Promotion Director Olivia Henderson all did rotating live six-hour shifts at the stations, which were located in an active evacuation zone protected by the National Guard.
This past weekend, Results’ Chief Technology Officer Ron Castro led a team composed of Redding Chief Engineer Tom Morris, Andy Forbes Technologies, and the crew from Steve Wilde‘s SWE Services and American Amplifier Technologies LLC up the burned-out South Fork Mountain (elevation 5,482 feet) with a temporary 10×16 container and 25kW diesel generator to return the four impacted stations to service as PG&E works to restore site power. The Redding team also mounted a community fund-drive, dubbed, “Rebound. Recover.” The team has been collecting cash donations with local remote broadcasts, augmented by Results’ sister stations in Chico, Yuba City and Sacramento. [Special thanks to Dave Shakes]
