Vandals bring down radio towers

KRKO-AM site

A long battle over radio towers has apparently led to deliberate vandalism in Everett, WA. Two towers were brought to the ground early Friday morning at the KRKO-AM site. The locally owned and operated station has been able to remain on the air. President and General Manager Andy Skotdal tells RBR/TVBR he’s hopeful that a $25,000 reward he’s offering will lead to an arrest of the vandals.

S-R Broadcasting has been battling for years to win permission to build two more towers at the site to add a new station at 1520 kHz to the existing KRKO broadcasts on 1380. A King County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the broadcaster in mid-August, upholding a land-use decision by the Snohomish County Council to allow construction of the new towers at the same location as four existing towers.

Now there are only two towers standing on the site. At about 3:30 am Friday, vandals gained access to the site and managed to fire up a piece of construction equipment. They used it to topple a 349-foot tower and one of three 199-foot towers.

“We never went off the air.  The Nautel XR-50 scaled back from 50,000 watts with finesse and remained on the air with crystal clear audio at 4.5 kW with only two towers left in the array,” Skotdal told RBR/TVBR. The vandals apparently escaped injury from bringing down the live AM towers because the site is in a flood plane and the towers are only “hot” beginning 20 feet above the ground. Skotdal said the site had better security than most antenna sites, but that razor wire had been removed from a small section in preparation for the construction project, and that’s where the attackers entered the site.

Two people were seen fleeing the scene. A sign left at the site claimed that the action was taken by the ELF, the Earth Liberation Front, which has been responsible for a rash of eco-terrorism attacks in the Northwest.

“We have to weigh our priorities, and the local ecosystem in Everett, along with the local residents, do not need additional sports news radio station towers that come at the expense of reduced property values and harmful radio waves,” said a statement that an ELF spokesman sent to local media outlets.

Even so, Skotdal is not convinced that the ELF is really responsible. “I personally believe it’s someone in the area,” he said, although the long battle over the tower construction project had not previously led to violence. “I’m not convinced its ELF, but that will be up to the FBI and Sheriff,” he said. Skotdal has publicized the $25,000 reward offer to local media and will now begin running regular announcements on KRKO. He’s hopeful that will bring forth someone who knows something about the vandalism.

Neighbors of the KRKO antenna site had fought the addition of more towers for years at government agencies and in the courts. Opponents claimed that RF from AM radio can harm people and wildlife. Some complained that the station could be heard on their phones and intercom systems.

The construction project will now deal not only with building two new 199-foot towers, but also replacing the toppled 349-foot and 199-foot towers. Asked about his insurance, Skotdal said, “Well, we’ll see.” He noted that you really don’t now how good your insurance coverage is until you file a claim. Ultimately, the site is to have one 349-foot tower and five at 199-feet each.