This little shack atop Mt. Ka’ala on Oahu’s North Shore, amidst love-crazed snail-infested trees, houses the boosters for KHPR and KIPO along with a translator for KTUH.
Blame it on the snails.
Hawaii Public Radio’s signal will be out to parts of Kauai and Oahu until further notice.
The pubcaster says recent storms knocked out power lines to the radio station’s relay facility, located at the summit of Mount Ka’ala. The transmission facility houses the boosters for Honolulu stations classical KHPR(FM) and news/talk KIPO(FM) along with a translator for student-run University of Hawaii station KTUH(FM). The HPR backup generators ran out of fuel several days after the storm, according to KHON(TV), Honolulu.
Usually, the electrical line would have been repaired quickly, however HPR says the repair location has been identified as the habitat of the endangered Oahu tree snail. HPR has been told that the molluscs are in mating season and can’t be disturbed.
Listeners can still hear the station’s online stream, HPR’s mobile app or cable broadcasts.
HPR is in the middle of its fall fund drive.
