Marcos Icahuate
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A strike team from the El Centro Fire Department is deployed to Northern California.
The fire crew is helping to assist with the Orleans Complex.
The team includes a type 6 engine with three personnel and a strike team leader trainee.
The team left on Tuesday with no time table yet as when they are expected to return.
Karina Bazarte
BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A new and disturbing scam is making the rounds and this time, it’s happening right at your front door.
A local from Brawley says these scammers are knocking on your door asking for personal information such as your ID.
Brawley police say scammers are posing as social or government workers knocking on doors and asking residents for personal information.
“They will have iPads with them and they will try to get your information. They will say, ‘Hey, we are with Department [of] Social Services. We are offering this program where we can get you a free iPad or watch. All we need to do is take a phone of your driver’s license the front and back of it,'” said Cmdr. Juan Morales of the Brawley Police Department (BPD).
That is not the only thing they want to see, these scammers are also asking to see your EBT information and other information tied to social services programs.
That is exactly what happened to a local couple last week.
He says two women showed up at his door claiming he and his wife could get a free iPad if they gave up personal information.
“She had mentioned she didn’t have any of those cards on her and what we caught on is that they said we can verify it online and online website or if you even have medical we can verify it through medical and we have to take a picture of it,” said Ethan Marquez, a Brawley resident.
BPD says social or government workers will never knock on your door and ask for personal information.
Police are urging residents to verify the company these scammers are claiming to represent, write down their license plate numbers, and contact local law enforcement right away.
Eduardo Morales
WELLTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A family in Wellton is dealing with the loss of their home after a fire.
Late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, a house fire completely destroyed a family’s home.
Luckily, the community is here to support them.
“I was scared…I was scared but hopeful,” said Erika Martinez-Wammack.
Martinez-Wammack says her daughter was inside the home staying with her grandparents when the fire started late Saturday night.
She shares what went through her mind when she found out what was happening.
“I didn’t find her for ten minutes and I…Well, I’m just grateful that my daughter is here and alive, and that I get another day with her,” expressed Martinez-Wammack.
She says her six-year-old daughter, Athena, was the one who alerted everyone about the fire, helping them get out safely.
Athena shares why she was so brave.
“Great because I love them so much, pretty great because Spider-Man, I talk to him on face call all the time,” said Athena.
You can support the family through their GoFundMe here.
Madeline Murray
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Early Thursday morning, the Yuma Proving Ground hosted the change in responsibility ceremony, which only happens every two years.
The outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Mark A. Millare passed on his responsibilities to incoming Command Sgt. Maj. Joshua C. Holthus.
The Command Sergeant Major is the highest-ranking enlisted person on site and serves as a leader, advocating for soldiers, and their families.
“As senior enlisted leaders at Yuma Proving Ground, we do a, we rotate every two years, so it was just my time to go,” says outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Millare.
Millare has been in this position since July 13, 2023, serving as the highest-ranking enlisted person at the proving ground.
He now will be turning over his responsibilities to Command Sgt. Maj. Holthus.
Millare says, “Him and I came from the same brigade and acquisition, and army testing is going to be foreign for him. Even now after two years, I would say that I’m still not like 100% know everything, so I would say keep an open mind and start learning.”
Holthus says he plans to continue leading and advocating for soldiers and their families stepping into this new role.
“I became an acclamation officer well over twenty years ago, and that is the expectation of an acclamation officer is to do those things from the get go,” says Holthus.
The Command Sergeant Major serves under Colonel John Nelson. Col. Nelson shares this thoughts on the change of responsibility.
“I’m feeling bittersweet about today’s ceremony because we’re saying, you know, goodbye to my senior listed advisor that’s been serving in that position for the last two years, but also kind of sweet because were welcoming in another outstanding non-commissioning officer Commander Sergeant Major Holfus,” says Nelson.
Karina Bazarte
BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Brawley Police Department (BPD) has recovered about 100 illegal guns from the streets just this year alone. But they say there’s one team member who’s taken that mission even further.
BPD says they are the only local agency that uses a non-human team member to help them remove illegal guns from the streets. It uses a sharp nose and has four paws.
“Jax is a hard worker. He is a team player and he has paws,” said Detective Javier Martinez with BPD.
Jax is a Labrador Retriever and he is the only K9 in the whole entire valley that specializes in detecting illegal guns and much more.
“We have the only narcotic K9 when we do the street interdiction. We go out and find the illegal activity that is going on and we utilize that K9 a lot which a lot of the time detects firearms in the vehicle,” the officer shared.
Brawley police say since last year, they have received about 36 illegal pistols.
“Over 15 illegal long rifles both unserialized, stolen,” Detective Martinez spoke.
BPD say there are numerous cases where they conduct search warrants and find many illegal guns, including the 3D printers that create these ghost guns.
“I think a lot of the times we have a people relocating here to the city we have a prison that is close by a lot of the time families relocate here to the city which is went they get release from the prison they end up being here in the City of Brawley,” Martinez shared.
To reduce the number of illegal guns on the streets, that’s when our four-legged friend Jax comes in.
“Late last year, we called Jax out to the City of Calexico and he was an assistant on a vehicle which had narcotics and we ended up finding a machine gun in the back of the van,” Martinez remarked.
Agent Brian Harsany says Jax works with every law agency in the Valley including Border Patrol.
“As long as he gets to smell and discover something either a handgun, ammunition and even currency, he will get this toy,” Agent Harsany explained.
He says Jax has to train every week for five hours in order to be certified.
“The department picked this dog and then I went down to San Diego everyday Monday through Friday to train with him,” Harsany said.
Jax is a three-year-old dog born in Guadalajara, Mexico and has two years with the BPD
“Jax is a hero. He loves what he does, he is good at what he does, he is a big asset in our department,” Martinez expressed.
Marcos Icahuate
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – KYMA-TV and other television stations across the country have been acquired by another company.
On July 18, Rincon Broadcasting Group announced it has acquired the following stations:
KAYU-TV (Fox) – Spokane, Washington
KFFX-TV (Fox) – Pendleton, Oregon
KCYU-LD (Fox) – Yakima, Washington
KYMA-DT (NBC/CBS) – Yuma, Arizona
KOKI-TV (Fox) – Tulsa, Oklahoma
KMYT-TV (MyNetworkTV) – Tulsa, Oklahoma
WHBQ-TV (Fox) – Memphis, Tennessee
“We’re incredibly excited to expand our regional broadcast footprint into the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, and Mid-South,” said Todd Parkin, President of Rincon Broadcasting Group. “These stations have strong local brands and deep viewer loyalty. We look forward to pursuing innovation in broadcast television, while upholding their vital role in serving communities with trusted information.”
You can read the full press release below.
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) got some new training props to better prepare them for fighting fires.
YFD got a dumpster and other gas props to simulate real life fire responses.
The props are located at the public training facility.
YFD explains how beneficial the new equipment will be.
“This is something that we’ve been lacking for a long time is a simulated gas prop. We do encounter calls, they’re rare, but because they’re rare, we don’t get a tone of practice at them, so when Southwest Gas said, ‘Hey, we can help get some pipe laid, gets some props put up for you guys,’ it was huge,” said Capt. David Padilla of YFD.
Along with Southwest Gas’ donation, the dumpster was donated by Republic Sanitation Services.
A representative from Southwest Gas explains why it’s important to help out the local fire station.
“It helps us work together to keep our community safe, having these props in a controlled environment like this will help get our environment ready for real-life incidents, which will keep our community safe all together,” said Francisco Ortega, the Yuma District Manager of Southwest Gas.
YFD says that working together with local companies and agencies can help them in the future.
“Getting to have these relationships when there isn’t an emergency, sharing knowledge, learning from the experts in the industry them learning what we’re going to do when we show up, it’s critically important to keep a safe community,” says Capt. Padilla.
YFD says they are incredibly thankful to Southwest Gas and the Republic Sanitation Services for their donations.
Madeline Murray
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Congress voted on cutting federal funding for public media by $1.1 billion.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives money from the government and distributes these funds to public radio stations everywhere.
This funding helps to ensure the public has access to public media, including local radio station KAWC and Arizona PBS.
According to the KAWC website, they receive over $200,000 from the CPB.
One local, Bob Lutes, says he’s concerned with these cuts.
“Well, I’m against it because I think it’s an asset for the whole country. If you don’t keep informed, what are you going to know? How we going to keep informed,” said Lutes.
The funding cuts could also negatively impact emergency alert capabilities, community outreach intiatives, and other local programming.
We did reach out to KAWC, but the station said it’s not ready to comment at this time.
Abraham Retana
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – More businesses are coming to the east area of San Luis, Arizona.
Construction started Wednesday for Tropic Car Wash. It’s part of the Economic Development Project near the Commercial Port of Entry.
Riedel Construction CEO and Mayor of San Luis Nieves Riedel says more businesses are ready to break ground as soon as next week.
“It’s not just housing, with housing comes growth and with growth comes services we need to provide and I honestly believe we can not wait for the outside world to come and provide these services,” said Mayor Riedel.
Tropic Car Wash is located on Avenue E near the commercial port of entry.
It will open its doors in March 2026.
Danyelle Burke North
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Snakes are slithering out this summer. With snake activity predicted to rise during the summer months, local healthcare leaders are encouraging the community to stay alert and prepared.
“In general, if you’re going outside or hiking, try to stick to daytime hours when the sun’s out,” said Onvida emergency medicine physician Dr. Casey Noroyan. “We do see increase activity, especially in snakes kind of around the nighttime.”
When working or hiking outdoors, Dr. Nooryan says try to avoid tall grass and piles of logs and wear proper clothing.
“Wearing long pants, a long pair of socks and boots, this will help protect your ankle and kind of lower leg area,” said Noroyan.
But if you are bitten by a snake, the first step is to get to a safe area and quickly seek help.
“All of this is very time sensitive, so the quicker you can seek help and get the antivenom, if it’s indicated in your case, the better off,” said Noroyan.
He recommends to keep the area stable without moving around too much to help decrease the spread of venom.
One common question they receive is if it’s okay to suck the venom out.
“I would say in general, this is not a safe practice. It can actually cause more damage to the area. It can introduce new infection, and it can cause toxicity to the surrounding tissue,” said Noroyan.
