An update is expected today on when TV and radio services can be reinsated following a fire at Bilsdale transmitter on the North York Moors yesterday.
Engineers say temporary equipment will be used to restore services.
The fire service has now established a 300-metre exclusion zone around the site near Helmsley.
The mast provides TV and radio signals for North Yorkshire and areas of Teesside and County Durham.
The transmitter sends a signal to around 570,000 houses across the region,
TV viewers who receive their television via Freeview are affected, with services still available online.
BBC and local radio stations which use FM and DAB have also been affected.
Arqiva, which owns the transmitter, has apologised for the inconvenience.
It said in a statement: “The fire at our Bilsdale mast site is under control and we can confirm that there were no injuries or casualties.
“Our thanks to the attending emergency services for their swift action. TV and radio services remain off air from the site.
“We are waiting to assess the damage caused.
“Our teams are currently mobilising temporary equipment to site however we are unable to provide specific timelines for restoration of any services at this point.”
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that crews had been sent to the site at 1.19pm on Tuesday.
A spokesperson said: “The initial call came at 13:19 from an engineer working at the transmitter, stating that he believed the mast was on fire due to smoke coming from below the first stay level (approximately 50 – 60 metres up).
“Calls were also received from members of the public who could see the smoke from some distance.
“North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service worked to control the fire in difficult circumstances and extinguished a fire in a single-storey stone building and a 315ft transmitter mast.
“Only one building in a complex of four was affected and there are concerns about the structural integrity of the mast.
“A 300m exclusion zone has been put in place around the mast.
“Eight pumps from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident and firefighting has now ceased until the site has been confirmed as safe for further work.
“The incident was attended by crews from Helmsley, Malton, Thirsk, Danby, Coulby Newham, Ripon, Northallerton and Acomb in addition to mobile water bowsers from Tadcaster and Boroughbridge.
“NYFRS will be working on site tomorrow with Arqiva, the site operators, to bring the incident to safe conclusion.”
Freeview said in a statement yesterday that viewers affected may experience disruption to services overnight.
It added: “There is no need to retune your device, services will be restored once the problem has been fixed.
“We will provide further updates on this article and via our Twitter support account.
“You can watch Freeview on some internet-connected Freeview Play TVs, or one that has the players available to view, you will still be able to watch live and on-demand content from the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub or All 4.
“Alternatively, you can watch Freeview via our mobile app which is available to download for free from your app store or on a web browser via our online TV Guide.
“For more information visit our article on how to watch Freeview online.”
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