Spanish language radio towers destroyed - Ecoterrorism or immigration angst? by Jennifer Krahe BLACK CANYON CITY - "The towers went down." Tom Birch, fire chief in Black Canyon City, described what happened at around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in those four frank words. But the situation surrounding the destruction of four radio towers on the property of Krazy Horse Ranch Polo Club just off Black Canyon Highway is not so cut and dried. A cutting torch was used to sever one guy wire on each of the four 197 foot towers, according to Susan Quayle of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, causing them to fall. Damage estimates reach into the "millions of dollars." Three other towers on the property are intact and still standing.

The Black Canyon City Fire Department and YCSO were called in after Krazy Horse personnel noticed electrical wires arcing and heard the towers come crashing down. John Bianco, the polo professional at the ranch, told general manager Jennifer Tuzzolino, "It was like a tree falling."

Philip Wilkinson of Entravision, the company that owns the radio towers in Black Canyon City and others across several states, confirmed that nothing of this sort has ever happened to Entravision facilities. In regard to the suspect/s, Wilkinson related that "the initial review of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office is someone with intent to destroy." The crime will be fully investigated by the Sheriff's Office, and the FBI has been called in as well. "It is a felony to tamper with a federally licensed broadcast service," Wilkinson asserted.

The towers broadcast Spanish language "ESPN Deportes" on station KMIA, an AM station housed in downtown Phoenix. "We are back up and running today," Tom Duran, general manager of the station, said on Thursday. Because there are only three of the original seven towers still standing, the signal may be weak, but the station is successfully broadcasting nonetheless. When asked if his station had ever received threats, Duran was vague, answering "Not necessarily." He did admit that there was "some controversy" in Black Canyon City when the towers went up, inciting a lawsuit that was played out in Yavapai County courts.

Expanding on the history of the towers, Yavapai County Planner Mike Kelly re called, "They (Entravision) were granted a special use permit around 1999 or 2000. This allowed the towers to be built on property that was not zoned." The owner of Krazy Horse Ranch and Polo Club, Jerry Mitchell, leased the land to Entravision.

"A lot of people protested the use permit," added Kelly. In 2000, the Arizona Court of Appeals validated a referendum that allowed Yavapai County voters a say in the matter. The cluster of towers was approved by voters in 2002. "If it would have gone the other way, the towers would have been torn down," Kelly said. Although the vehement refusal by opponents to accept the towers has died down in the last few years, the owner of Krazy Horse Ranch speculated, "This might be another flare up."

While it's possible the vandalism is strictly ecoterrorism - the premeditated and illegal actions of someone who disagreed with the towers for aesthetic or environmental reasons, there are interesting coincidences with current statewide events that might prove otherwise.

Both Mitchell and the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office alluded to recent immigration issues in our legislature and protests in the streets of Phoenix as a possible impetus for this deliberate destruction of towers broadcasting a Spanish language channel on American soil.

The reporter can be reached at jennifer@thedesertadvocate.com