Rain, Wind And Fire: With a last minute increase to Category 2 status and 100 mile per hour winds, Hurricane Francine made landfall 70 miles southwest of New Orleans yesterday (9/11) afternoon. iHeartMedia WNOE/New Orleans PD Casey Carter tells Country Aircheck, "There was quite a bit of flooding that has pretty much subsided and there were, and still are, widespread power outages, but aside from that, we fared reasonably well this time around." The station started simulcasting coverage from partner WVUE-TV yesterday at 4pm, and is now back to regular programming with twice-hourly news updates.

Sixty miles up I-10 in Baton Rouge, Guaranty WTGE PD Jimmy Brooks says, "While Francine caused some disruption, the overall impact on our community was minimal. We did have a temporary power outage at the station, but we were able to maintain our broadcast operation with essential information. We delivered comprehensive local coverage that we're all extremely proud of."

Meanwhile, massive wildfires are creating havoc in southern California. "We are doing well, however the smoke is coming from all directions," says KFRG/Riverside PD Heather Froglear. "Many schools in the area are closed this week due to poor air quality. There are three major fires going on, with containment at the most only 15%. While we are used to 'fire season' here, it never gets any easier to watch."