Why Laguna’s only Emergency-Ready Radio Station needs bigger support
Reporting on Laguna's fire today
Today, what started as my usual, fun “Best of Laguna Beach” radio show at 2:00 p.m. on “Laguna’s only radio, KXFM 104.7,” quickly veered from this year’s Pageant review to a front-row seat of a blooming hillside fire directly across from the radio station.
I had invited my best buddy, Ruben Flores, to join me today to talk all things art festivals. But 20 minutes into our broadcast, a plume of smoke erupted just behind the hillside ridge that I look out on from our studio perch. (Ruben stopped mid-sentence when he saw my eyes bulging.)
Ruben and I dropped our talking points list and picked up the phones. For the next three hours, we relayed evacuation alerts, took calls from eye-witnesses about the fire-quenching efforts, reported traffic/street closures, spoke directly with Laguna Beach police and Fire Safety Council members, and kept the community informed in real time – without delay, without filter, without the lag of social media, overloaded websites or news helicopters in the sky.
And, I might add, we learned a lot from incoming call-in experts about how to ember-safe your home … the water tanks and their accessibility at the top of our Laguna Beach hills … and – from a Pacific Palisades couple who lost their home in January and now live in Laguna Beach – how to pack your belongings in record time and take photos of everything in your home (even if you might be dealing with smoke damage).
Our station’s resident weather meteorologist Dave Murray called in with weather data. The Surf and Sand Resort contacted us to let us know they were ready for local evacuees. Even Ruben talked about the saving salvos of “greenscaping” next to your home vs. dead brush under your deck, and what local firefighting efforts usually resort to when dealing with a Laguna Beach ravine that offers two sides of green and not-so-green brush.
This is what hyperlocal radio is built for – manned by hyperlocal … locals!
Laguna’s KXFM 104.7 radio is the only FCC-licensed emergency-ready radio station in the city – in the surrounding area, really. (The next closest FCC-licensed radio stations are at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and UCI in Irvine.)
We had friends in Dana Point, Newport Beach and Laguna Niguel … even as far away as England and Brazil … texting us that they were listening to the online feed – KCFMRadio.org and though the KXFM radio app – because it was the most pertinent information they were receiving. (Point in fact, the City of Laguna Niguel reached out to give us an update for their own residents.)
In a town surrounded by chaparral-covered hills, where fire and flood seasons are no joke, this kind of live, boots-on-the-ground reporting isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.
Our KXFM radio station runs as a non-profit entity. It survives thanks to individual donors and nearly 80 dedicated DJ volunteers (Well, make that 81, thanks to Ruben making his unexpected debut today.)
But we can’t shoulder this role alone. In moments like today, it becomes crystal clear: Laguna Beach needs to subsidize its emergency broadcasting system.
KXFM Radio proved again today that we’re not just a music station or an entertainment outlet. We’re a lifeline, a live information center.
I’m personally asking the residents of this beautiful town – and I’m asking the City of Laguna Beach, too – to recognize that role by ensuring that this lifeline doesn’t snap from under-funding.
Let’s not wait for the next crisis to make this decision. Let’s get proactive – because Laguna deserves to be connected, informed and safe.
Diane Armitage
Radio Host | “Best of Laguna Beach” | Longtime Laguna Local