On Saturday, the Davis Fire erupted to the south of Reno, Nevada. As of Wednesday, it remained an extreme threat. Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz cancelled a rally due to smoke and health concerns. Evacuation warnings were expanded this morning.
Now, the fire has squelched over-the-air broadcasts for the CBS affiliate owned by Sarkes Tarzian and the NBC affiliate operated by Sinclair Inc. through a shared services agreement with a close partner. At least one local radio operation is also impacted.
The KTVN-2 in Reno over-the-air signal was lost Sunday night at approximately 10:30pm PT, as the station did its best to tell viewers that those with Charter Spectrum service and streaming access could still view the station. The 5:30pm newscast today (9/11) and 6:30am newscast on Thursday will be simulcast on PBS Reno, which uses Channel 5.
“Our facilities do have a back-up generator, but one phase of our three-phase power setup is still energized, which we believe is keeping the generators from switching on,” the station explained on its website.
On Monday morning, the KRNV-4 broadcast tower was also dark as flames reached Slide Mountain — a 9,700-foot peak aside Washoe City, Nev.
NV Energy cut the power. It was a decision made out of safety concerns.
KRNV is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting. Thus, it is not a full sibling of KRXI-11, the FOX affiliate in Reno that is owned by Sinclair Inc. KRXI uses a different broadcast facility, and it has not been impacted by NV Energy power losses.
“The power will be restored once fire officials and NV Energy deem it safe to do so,” KRNV said Monday morning.
By Noon on Wednesday, the situation had only gotten worse. Some local schools cancelled classes due to the wildfire. Holy Spirit Catholic Mission was completely destroyed.
According to KRXI, the fire was at 31% containment as of this writing.
RADIO IMPACTED BY WILDFIRE
There’s not a lot of fun at “Fun 101” in the Reno market today.
According to Craig Moss, Operations Manager for Evans Broadcasting Company, its KRFN-FM 100.9 is running on generator power as he watched helplessly as flames from the Davis Fire came within 200 yards of its tower — and stopped.
KRFN’s transmitter is located on Steamboat Peak, on the east side of the fire.
