LA TV, cellphone signals at risk due to fire

If flames were to reach the top of Mt. Wilson (CA), home to the region's TV and FM radio transmitters, what would happen? Severe damage could disrupt cellphone service, as well as television and radio programming for those who receive signals over the air. It also could interrupt some emergency law enforcement communications. But Los Angeles police and fire departments do not use the tower, and neither does the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Mt. Wilson is home to more than two dozen towers that occupy its peak just north of Sierra Madre. It supports antennas that beam signals for television and FM radio stations throughout the region. The fire also threatens the historic solar observatory atop the mountain, which houses multimillion-dollar astronomy projects for UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.