A fire early Tuesday morning destroyed the transmission building for a 50,000-watt FM station and its colocated AM signal on the Delmarva peninsula.
103.3 WESR(FM), “The Shore,” is licensed to Onley-Onancock, Va., and serves Virginia’s Eastern Shore region.
It broadcasts from a tower site in Tasley that is also home to its sister AM station, the country-formatted 1330 WESR(AM), and its 105.7 FM translator. As of Wednesday, the three signals were off the air.
The Tasley Volunteer Fire Company arrived after receiving a call for a fire at the station’s tower site and reported the structure was fully involved, according to WBOC(TV).
According to station owner Charlie Russell, both the AM and FM can be heard again via their online streams, and Russell said that the station is working to secure a backup transmitter, with the hopes of returning to the air soon.
He expressed gratitude to the emergency services that arrived quickly on scene.
The AM signal goes back to 1958 from the Accomack County tower site, according to its FCC license record. The 103.3 FM signal signed on 10 years later.
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