Category: kyma-local-news

Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A flood watch is in effect across the Imperial Valley Thursday, and local officials are reminding residents to stay alert and take precautions ahead of possible heavy rain.

The Imperial County Fire Department is providing free sand and sandbags at all of its fire stations. Residents can stop by and fill their own to help protect their homes from flooding.

Some locals are already taking steps to get ready.

“Just check the roofing, make sure you know everything is good before anything. You know, maybe make sure there’s no patches or things,” said Eulalio Antonio, an Imperial Valley resident. “We did get wood buckets, just in case that we do have a leak,” Antonio added.

While some are getting ahead of the rain, others say they’re waiting to see how severe the weather gets before taking action.

“People have been telling me that there’s going to be some heavy weather, but I haven’t seen it, so I haven’t started getting ready,” said Edward Swanegan.

Swanegan says his home sits on a slight slope, so he’s not too worried yet, but he’s still keeping an eye on the forecast.

The flood watch remains in effect through Saturday morning, and officials are urging residents to prepare early and avoid driving through flooded areas once the rain begins.

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Karina Bazarte

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA) – The Brawley Fire Department has appointed a new fire marshal and she is the only one in Imperial County.

Nikkie Chamberland was born and raised in San Diego and has worked with other fire agencies for about 12 years.

Chamberland says she will be in charge of fire prevention, fire investigations and school education.

“I definitely want to get the community risk reduction program up and going, giving the community the empowerment to educate and put it back into their hands so if a house fire happens, we are going to be there to help them and we are going to show them ways to prevent it from happening again,” said Nikkie Chamberland.

Chamberland is the only female fire marshal in the Imperial Valley.

She says she is ready to help the community of Brawley.

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Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – After rain began moving through the Imperial Valley Thursday, officials are once again reminding residents to stay alert and take precautions as more wet weather moves in.

The Imperial County Fire Department (ICFD) say the showers are expected to get heavier, and residents are being urged to take steps to protect themselves and their property.

The biggest danger, fire officials say, is on the roads. Even a few inches of moving water can sweep a car downstream, making driving in flooded areas extremely risky. Their advice is simple: Turn around, don’t drown.

Deputy Chief Cedric Ceseña stressed the importance of having a preparedness kit at home in case of power outages or other emergencies. Such a kit should include food, water, flashlights, and batteries, enough for everyone in the household, including pets and anyone with special dietary needs.

“I think one of the things that’s important to keep in mind is that, although it might not look like the rain will amount to much right now, the forecast can always change,” Deputy Chief Ceseña said.

The flood watch remains in effect through Saturday morning, and ICFD notes that sand and sandbags are available at all nine county fire stations for anyone who needs them.

Residents are encouraged to monitor weather reports, stay off flooded roads, and prepare early to ensure safety as the storms continue.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local family could use community support as they battle a toddler’s cancer diagnosis.

Three-year-old Emiliano Mendoza has been going through chemo at the Children’s Hospital in Phoenix. The Mendoza family has been going through a hardship trying to keep up with family, medical, and travel expenses.

Mendoza’s cousin, Isabel Rodriguez, says any community prayers and support helps.

“Through this situation like even just prayers or just keep them in your thoughts,” said cousin Isabel Rodriguez. “The family- they’ve been trying to stay closer than ever. They’re just driven together at this moment because it’s one of the most hardest times they face in their lives.”

The family created a GoFundMe to help with all around expenses like medical and travel. If you would like to help support, you can find the GoFundMe link here.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Community leaders came together Friday for the annual Arizona Southwest Town Hall.

Local business leaders, educators, and students gathered at Arizona Western College in Yuma to discuss workforce development and how it aligns with industry needs with future careers.

Leaders discussed how to develop skills in people through internships and education and encourage people to stay in field locally.

“The community came together to talk about workforce development,” said co-chair of Southwest Arizona Town Hall Shelley Mellon. “How that aligns with the industry needs with future careers and how we create that pipeline through the education system, so students know the possibilities and the opportunities that they have within our community to hopefully develop additional internships and job opportunities for our students.”

The report from this session will go to Arizona town hall and legislators across the state. The event happens every year in October.

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Dillon Fuhrman

WINTERHAVEN, Calif. (KYMA) – The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) says an investigation is underway after deputies found two people dead.

According to a press release, they responded to the area of Railroad Avenue and E Street Friday at around 6:30 p.m.

Upon arrival, ICSO says deputies found two men dead after suffering from “apparent gunshot wounds,” with the ICSO’s Investigations Unit, with support from the Scientific Investigations Unit and the Coroner’s Office, initiating an investigation.

ICSO says this is being treated as a “suspicious death investigation,” with preliminary findings indicating “there are no outstanding suspects” and there is no threat to the community.

The investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information regarding the case, call (442) 265-2052.

Winterhaven Press ReleaseDownload

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Police Department (YPD) hosted the annual Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods (G.A.I.N.) event Saturday.

The event, in collaboration with Target, was held by “police agencies statewide to join forces and promote awareness, safety, and neighborhood unity” as October is Crime Prevention Month.

Police, fire and military agencies across the state as well as local organizations and non-profits also participated in the event.

There was free drinks, hot dogs, chips and face painting during the event.

The event took place at the Target store parking lot, located in the Yuma Palms Regional Center, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Sunday, October 12 is National Farmers Day.

Farmers here in Yuma help feed not only our county, but also most of the country during winter months.

In the toughest conditions, they work tirelessly to help maintain fresh produce and keep our fields prosperous through every season.

We recognize and thank the hardworking farmers who help sustain our community.

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Paul Vozzella

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of Yuma is offering classes to make sure children are staying safe in the water.

The City is partnering with Infant Swimming Resource to help children develop critical life-saving water skills, according to a press release.

Classes are offered October 27 through December 12 at local pools, but space is limited to 18 children. Each child and parent or guardian attends a ten-minute one-on-one session daily for six weeks.

The highest rate for drownings in the U.S. and in Yuma County is for children ages one to four.

The city says the program can save lives.

“Self rescue with the goal or intent of creating time to be found by their, their family, friend, loved one, whoever their caretaker is,” said AJ Mosqueda, Recreation Manager for the City of Yuma.

Participation is open to families throughout the Yuma region, and you do not have to be a Yuma resident to enroll.

For more information, click here.

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Madeline Murray

WINTERHAVEN, Calif. (KYMA) – There are new developments in the shooting in Winterhaven which left two people dead.

According to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO), it happened in the area of Railroad Avenue and E Street, near W. Winterhaven Drive, Friday at around 6:30 p.m.

Upon arrival, ICSO said deputies found two men dead after suffering from “apparent gunshot wounds,” with the ICSO’s Investigations Unit, with support from the Scientific Investigations Unit and the Coroner’s Office, initiating an investigation.

A lieutenant with ICSO shared his surprise that something like this happened in that area.

“This incident is being treated as a suspicious death investigation and preliminary investigations find that there is no outstanding suspects and there is currently no threat to public safety,” said Lt. Joseph Conkey. “Winterhaven is a pretty safe community, especially within Winterhaven itself, not a whole lot of these incidents do occur there.”

One resident in the neighborhood, Carmen Perez, was also was shocked by the incident.

“Nothing ever happened like that here and I just feel you never know, and I live here by myself with my kid,” said Perez.

She shared that they were just watching the rain when they saw the police lights.

Perez explained, “We don’t go outside we just stay here, we didn’t notice anything…we just noticed the cops were here because we watched how it was raining and stuff like that.”

The Scientific Investigations Unit and the Coroner’s Office are assisting with the investigation.

This is an active and ongoing investigation, and if you have any information, call ICSO.

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