Clinton, IL Radio: 3 Stations Back On After Fire

Three radio signals in Clinton, Illinois are back on the air following a fire in the stations' former transmitter building Friday afternoon.

According to posting at the station website, transmission cables for WHOW-AM 1520 and FM 92.3, as well as WEZC 95.9 FM, all ran through the building formerly used as the 3 stations' transmitter building, located next to the stations' 325-foot tower. Transmitters were moved to the main studios inside the Big Red Barn, in June 2010.

As a result of the fire, all 3 signals went off the air at 4:15 Friday afternoon.

Engineers Wayne R. Miller and Jeremy Ruck, along with tower climber Brian Baker of Baker Antenna Service, were on the scene Saturday morning to begin the work to get the 3 signals back on the air.

WEZC 95.9 FM came back on the air Saturday morning at 11:45, at low power covering about a 20-mile radius, instead of its normal 40-mile coverage, while station officials replace its main transmission line to get the station back to full power. WHOW's 92.3 FM repeater came back on the air at its full power, covering all of DeWitt County, at 2:40 Saturday afternoon, and WHOW-AM 1520 returned to the air at low power at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.

It's expected that WEZC 95.9 FM will be back to full power within 30 days, and WHOW-AM 1520's 5,000-watt regional signal will be back to full power within 60 days. Both stations will require replacement of transmission cable.