A leaning television tower briefly forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a small Texas town before it was safely decommissioned on Friday.
The 1,337-foot transmission tower was used by Nexstar Media Group’s Harlington-based station KGBT (Channel 4), which serves the area of Brownsville.
The transmitter was erected in the small town of La Feria, which has slightly more than 7,000 residents. During a routine inspection of the tower, engineers with the television station noticed one of its 24 support cables had broken, putting the tower at risk of collapse.
A statement by Nexstar shared with some local media outlets said the tower was designed to fall in a “downward spiral” that was limited to 150 feet. But, as a precaution, residents at dozens of nearby homes were encouraged to evacuate on a precautionary basis while engineers worked to decommission the tower. Nexstar arranged for displaced residents to spend two nights at a local motel; around 20 families took the broadcaster up on that offer, and the City of La Feria will cover their hotel bills.
On Thursday, officials at the La Feria Independent School District said classes at David G. Sanchez Elementary School would be canceled because of the tower’s potential risk for collapse. Classes are expected to resume on Monday.
Engineers got to work on Friday morning, safely bringing the tower down in several phases. There was no threat to the public, and no damage caused to any homes or other nearby structures.
