WNKI578 (1610
AM) is a
travelers' information station licensed to the
Idyllwild Fire Protection District
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) provides firefighting, rescue, emergency medical services, and ambulance transport services for the unincorporated communities of Idyllwild and Fern Valley, in Southern California.
History
The I ...
and located in
Idyllwild,
California,
United States. It is licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission to transmit with a power of 10 watts. The station is operated in conjunction with the Mile High Radio Club of Idyllwild.
The main purpose of WNKI578 is to broadcast current emergency information, including road conditions, weather updates, and evacuation orders, for the communities of Idyllwild, Fern Valley, Pine Cove, and parts of
Mountain Center.
History
WNKI-578 was established by the Emergency Radio Committee and Coordinated Resources Management and Planning Group in 1978 in order to provide an emergency broadcast station serving local mountain communities of the
San Jacinto Mountains.
The operating organization, the Mile High Radio Club, was formed around the same time and uses volunteers to maintain operations. In 2014, the club signed an agreement with the Idyllwild Fire Protection District for the operations and oversight of the station through the joint coordination and cooperation of the organizations.
In 2018, the station was used to broadcast emergency information related to the
Cranston Fire
The Cranston Fire was a wildfire that burned in southwest Riverside County, California, in the United States. The fire was started on July 25, 2018, by Brandon M. McGlover, in an act of arson. The fire burned a total of , before it was fully cont ...
from a variety of government agencies and, once residents began to return to Idyllwild, from nongovernmental entities including the American Red Cross, Edison, Verizon, and AT&T.
In 2021, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors allocated more than $210,000 of federal Homeland Security grant funds for a two year project to increase station coverage by installing additional transmitters as part of the Idyllwild & San Jacinto Mountains Emergency Outdoor Warning System.
External links
Official websiteMile High Radio Club
References
Emergency communication
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