WPWC Radio towers collapse

Two of four towers collapsed at WPWC-AM, a radio station in Dumfries.

The towers are used to broadcast Radio Zion, a Spanish Christian Radio outlet. The station is operating on low power due to the loss of the towers.

Station owner Al Hammond said a sycamore tree fell onto one of the support wires of one tower can cause it to collapse. That tower then fell onto the lines of a second tower causing it to collapse.

The towers’ collapse damaged the base of both structures. Hammond said new towers had been ordered at the cost of $70,000 each to replace the fallen structures.

A rainstorm that occurred in our region, prior the time when Hurricane Matthew impacted the east coast, caused the caused the ground to become soggy and the sycamore tree to tumble, causing a domino effect on the towers, said Hammond.

No injuries were reported in the towers’ collapse. Two of the four towers at the radio station, located at the corner of Mine and Van Buren roads can be seen from Interstate 95.

The towers site is located along the bank of Quantico Creek is known to flood after heavy rains. A bridge that carries traffic on Van Buren Road over Quantico Creek also catches debris when the creek floods.

“This has always been an issue since the station was built in 1965,” said Hammond, who is the third owner of the station.

Hammond expects his replacement towers to be manufactured within six weeks; then they will be erected in place the old towers. The towers sit on eight-foot pedestals because the ground at the site can become soggy, he added.

The radio station has undergone changes over the years, to include a switch from its original broadcasting frequency of 1580 AM to its current spot on the dial at 1480 AM. Before becoming an outlet for a religious broadcaster, the station played country music.

Raymond Wilson “Cousin Ray” Woolfenden owned and managed the station from the mid-1970s to 2000 when it was sold to a new owner. Woolfenden died the same year.

When operating at full power, the 500-watt WPWC has a strong signal that can be heard as far north as Alexandria and Annandale, said Hammond.