The 2,000 foot tower which had been home to WEAU-TV 13 and WAXX-FM 104.5 has collapsed. The tower at Fairchild, Wisconsin had stood since 1966. It was one of the tallest structures in the United States. WAXX-FM had been considered by many to be the biggest FM signal in the state of Wisconsin. It’s unclear at this time what caused the tower to collapse, but the weather at the time was windy and icy.
The tower fell in 3 different directions. One part of the tower fell across County Road H, causing the road to be temporarily closed. Since the tower was located in a rural area, there were no injuries and there are no homes in the immediate vicinity. The only damage was to the tower, the building, and surrounding trees.
WEAU-TV is currently broadcasting on the 18.3 subchannel of WQQW-TV 18. WAXX-FM is currently utilizing the facilities of it’s Maverick stablemate WECL-FM 92.9. WECL’s Class A signal is not nearly as strong as WAXX’s full Class C, however. Before new stations and FM translators began operation on the 104.5 frequency, this author was able to receive WAXX-FM on a car radio while driving I-94 from the Twin Cities to Wisconsin Dells.
Hopefully, WEAU-TV and WAXX-FM will be able to build a new tower which maintains their current height and facilities. We’ll keep you posted. Best of luck to everyone at Gray Television and Maverick Media as they deal with this situation.