Thousands of viewers who rely on antenna reception provided by the Southwest Colorado Television Translator Association (SCTTA) lost most channels.
“We’re very sorry and expect to have the majority of channels back by Wednesday,” said manager Wayne Johnson. “It is very rare to have two translators taken out in one weekend.”
Translators on Abajo Peak in southeast Utah, and on Mancos Hill sustained lightening damage, Johnson said. Crews arrived Monday to analyze damage and begin repairs.
Cable television customers of Baja Broadband lost some channels because Baja receives network feeds from SCTTA. Equipment with Velocity Internet also sustained damage from the strike on Mancos Hill, Johnson said.
“We were flooded with calls Saturday,” Johnson said. “Poor Dallas Cowboy fans – they won, but a lot of people missed the game because of the lightning outage.”
Despite sophisticated grounding technology, translator sites are vulnerable to Mother Nature’s fury.
“Tall metal poles on top of mountains during a storm – if they take a direct hit, there is not much we can do but go and repair the damage,” Johnson said.
The SCTTA is a special tax district that provides television channels to more than 10,000 residents in Montezuma County, including in Dolores, Mancos, and Cortez.
The slow-moving storm also dumped record amounts of rain. Cortez received 0.93 inches of precipitation over the weekend, local meteorologist Jim Andrus said.
“We have what’s called a cut-off low pressure that is drifting over Utah,” he said. “It is slow-moving storm that is bringing a lot of moisture from the Pacific.”
Mountain topography induced heavier rainfall that broke records. The Dolores River hit record highs Monday, reaching 1,060 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Dolores. On Sunday, the Dolores River in town went from less than 100 cfs to 900 cfs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The previous record for Sept. 29, was 626 cfs in 1927.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com