More than four months after being destroyed by the deadly Carr Fire, 88.9FM KFPR in Redding is back on the air. North State Public Radio’s Redding transmitter went off air on July 27, when the wildfire burned the site on Shasta Bally Mountain where KFRP and other radio stations were housed.
Translators in Burney, 91.9FM, and Dunsmuir, 92.3FM, who get their signal from the Redding tower are also now back on the air.
Broadcasting news, music and entertainment from NPR and local hosts, North State Public Radio’s main transmitter in Chico was also damaged last summer and was operating on reduced power for several months.
“It’s been a challenging year for NSPR,” NSPR General Manager Phil Wilke said. “I want to thank our listeners in the Redding area for the patience and support. We want to let them know we’re back, and that we are ready to earn their time and support.”
He said that special thanks goes to the station’s Chief Engineer Jim Moore.
“None of this could have happened without Jim,” Wilke said. “Assessing the damage, ordering the new equipment, building and installing it when it arrived, working with the transmitter site’s landlord and tower climbing crews, Jim handled all the details, and Redding still wouldn’t be able to hear us if it hadn’t of been for his expertise.”
NSPR plans on doing some events in Redding as a thank-you to the community, he said. Details will be broadcast on NSPR.