Eleven curtain arrays, once part of the most powerful radio transmitter in the world, were demolished in less than 30 seconds Monday. North Carolina Wildlife Resources, now owners of the Voice of America site on Cherry Run Road, contracted with Controlled Demolition Inc., to pull down the towers. Using 25 pounds of explosives, charges at each array were set off in two-second increments.

The VOA property opened in 1963 and during the Cold War broadcast the “voice of America” to people living in countries behind the Iron Curtain, including “Radio Marti” to Cuba. It was closed in 2006 and surplussed to Beaufort County by the federal government in 2014. The county initially planned to build a public park on the 2,800-acre site, but the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners decided last year that maintenance on the property was too costly. Maintenance included keeping the lights atop the towers lit, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The video was taken Monday at 8 a.m.