SF Radio: KGO 810 AM Covers CA Storm

Cumulus reports its KGO 810 AM quickly moved into action to keep San Francisco Bay area citizens informed amidst last Thursday’s fierce storms that brought on heavy rain, hurricane-force winds, and power outages, and caused at least two deaths. The storm was one of the worst in years to hit the West Coast.

KGO 810’s storm coverage began in the 5AM news hour with three reporters: Kim McCallister based in the North Bay, covering flooding in Petaluma; Carolyn Burns reporting from I-80, where a big rig ran into a fallen tree, impacting the morning commute; and Jeannie Lynch reporting from the South Bay, where a fresh supply of sand bags arrived just in time for the bruntof the storm. KGO 810 deployed a total of 10 reporters to cover the storm for its listeners, including:

KGO's Jennifer Hodges

• KGO’s Kristin Hanes, who was sent to multiple locations through the day and reported live on flooding in Marin, Napa and Calistoga. Later, Hanes stopped in Mill Valley – which experiences frequent flooding – and talked to “storm veterans” sitting around in a bar, throwing back pints, while they watched the water rise outside.
• Jennifer Hodges, who reported live with breaking news stories on high winds in Santa Cruz that toppled a tree, pinning a young boy in an elementary school yard and sending him to the hospital. Hodges also reported live from the coast of Santa Cruz, which was hit hard by the storm. She reported from the Santa Cruz surfing museum, a spot usually packed with surfers. Hodges also filed a story from Capitola, which had serious flooding three years ago. But this time, businesses were prepared.
• John Lobertini, who covered the challenges of getting to work during the storm, and interviewed workers who didn’t have the option of working from home and passengers on BART. Lobertini also reported live from San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, which monitored the impact of the storm. When he got back to the station, he joined talk show host Chip Franklin with the latest news and information.
• Mike Simpson, who, en route to the South Bay to cover a story about a protest at Apple headquarters, reported on major flooding along Hwy 280, a heavily traveled route between San Francisco and San Jose/Santa Cruz.
• Business and tech reporter Jason Middleton, who covered the economic impact of construction delays due to the storm. He also reported on the economic impact to several local school districts that decided to cancel classes on the day of the storm. California funds attendance, so schools lose money when kids don’t show up. The school districts need to apply to a special fund to make up the loss.
• Evening reporter Tena Rubio, who was sent to the Oakland hills, where the heavy rainfall triggered the collapse of a retaining wall of a house which slid into the house next door, making it uninhabitable.
• PM anchor Nikki Medoro, who left the anchor chair early to cover breaking news in her hometown of San Jose. The rainfall caused the roof of a Safeway there to partially collapse, causing evacuation of the store. Medoro reported live from the scene.
• KGO traffic reporters Mark Nieto and Robin Winston contributed with traffic updates on the fives, reporting on the unprecedented numbers of road closures due to flooding, high winds on the bridges and the many fallen trees and debris that made the rain-slicked roads a major navigational challenge.

KGO’s news team also interviewed an investigator at the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, who took some amazing pictures of people surfing Lake Tahoe during the early morning hours of the storm, taking advantage of unusually large waves on the lake. The news team also interviewed a police officer about the number of people who saw pools of water on the road-- but continued to drive through.

Justin Wittmayer, Vice President and Market Manager for Cumulus San Francisco said: “KGO 810¹s coverage of the Storm of the Century confirmed our commitment to keeping our listeners informed with detailed real-time updates. Ronn Owens and Chip Franklin¹s engaged listeners were quick to share information and experiences, which helped make our community stronger and safer.”