All three Lewis County radio stations have plans to stay on the air during this flood, although two of them have station buildings that were deluged in 1996 and 2007. KELA/KMNT, which has operated from portable trailers since the December 2007 flood, plans to haul the trailers to high ground before the high water is scheduled to hit, according to Station Manager John DiMayo. The station has several contingency plans, he said, including broadcasting 104.3 FM from the studio trailer via the station’s Crego Hill station. The AM station, 1470, will go off the air if floodwaters hit the station’s Gold Street location, DiMayo said. “Once that site gets inundated up to a certain level, we just can’t operate,” DiMayo said. The station will post news to its Web site, kelaam.com. KITI/Live95 station manager Matt Shannon anticipates keeping both stations on the air throughout the flood. If the main floor floods they will broadcast from alternate studios upstairs. “Both of our stations should not be interrupted. Never say never, but we have that squared away,” Shannon said. Their AM station, 1420, broadcasts from Salzer Valley, while 95.1 FM is broadcast from an area called Buckhorn Mountain near Winlock. The station’s Web site, live95.com, will also have news updates. The Chehalis Christian radio station, which has repeater towers from Aberdeen to Packwood, stayed on the air throughout the entire 2007 flood, according to Station Manager Cameron Beierle. They have brought in generators to keep their Kresky Avenue station powered if electricity dies. “As long as Cooks Hill stays on, we should be fine,” he said, referring to their broadcast tower west of Centralia. The station broadcasts at 90.5 and 102.3 FM in the Twin Cities, 97.7 FM in Packwood, and 107.1 FM in Grays Harbor. The station will also post updates at www.kacs.org. The Chronicle will also have continuous updates on its Web site chronline.com.
