News Challenge

This was a good one.

I was in the control room -- just getting "comfortable" with severe weather coverage with a tornado warning and some severe t-storms. I had just started rounding up phoners ... with reporters giving us a few hits here and there. The chopper was in Douglas County showing lowering of the clouds ... and I had just sent it from there clear to Grandview where there was cloud rotation.

Then I get a note that one of the reporters is moving to a 2 alarm fire. I wonder if it is lightning and shrug it off. Not much trumps weather coverage. Then someone in master control yells over the control room speakers -- 'There's a big fire in the citycam - look!' At first I think someone is joking .... then I look up. Holy cow!

The director wants to put it on the air. I want to know what the heck it is - awkward to just put it up with Katie talking about weather if it's not weather related. So I call for anchors on set - and tell Katie here comes a pic of a fire -- POSSIBLY started by lightning .

I then ask for double boxes so we can show both the weather situation and the burning fire.
Crazy. Of course, the poor chopper is clear in the Grandview area and now trying to make it to KCK ... in a storm. Thank goodness for live streaming cellphone video. (And low on fuel. Darn the need for fuel!)

And thank goodness for my bladder of steel. 3 1/2 hours of continuous coverage!
Loved every minute of it.