ABC Channel 7 was broadcasting from the corner of 10th and Santa Barbara streets on Friday using the Depot as the reporter’s backdrop and the newly dedicated Floating Granite Ball Park for long shots of smoke.Although in the telecast Santa Paula looked great it also looked like the city was on fire.News reports throughout the weekend continued to report that Santa Paulans were being advised to evacuate prompting numerous worried calls to area officials.“It seems the bigger challenge we have is keeping everyone up to date about the status of the fire,” Bobkiewicz reported on the Santa Paula Blog on Saturday. “Many media outlets were reporting incorrect information on the evacuation,” that led to public contacts with the Santa Paula Police and Fire departments about the status of evacuations.Numerous Santa Paulans reported receiving phone calls from out of the area friends and relatives offering shelter over the weekend.Many city residents said that tuning into Ready Santa Paula 1610 AM – which has been broadcasting updated information on the Day Fire as needed – was a welcome source of information on the progress of the Day Fire.Although he had not been asked to report for duty as yet, early last week then Interim Fire Chief Kevin Fildes said that Araiza had been in touch with the SPFD to receive updates on the Day Fire.
Misinformation about fire countered, Fire Chief Rick Araiza starts duties early
September 27, 2006
Santa Paula News
Misinformation about a real potential emergency has brought wider exposure to Santa Paula and projected weekend Santa Ana winds brought an early start date for the city’s new Fire Chief.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesMisinformation about a real potential emergency has brought wider exposure to Santa Paula and projected weekend Santa Ana winds brought an early start date for the city’s new Fire Chief.City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz announced that Fire Chief Rick Araiza, who had served as the city’s Assistant Fire Chief before leaving for a state job but who returned upon the retirement of Chief Paul Skeels, began his new duties at 3 p.m. on Friday.Chief Araiza had been scheduled to start Monday, September 25.“I decided to go ahead,” and have Chief Araiza start early as “all hands are needed,” Bobkiewicz said Friday.At that point dangerous Santa Ana winds had been forecast for the weekend, not good news for the thousands of firefighters battling the-then almost three-week old Day Fire, named for the Labor Day when the blaze started in the Los Padres National Forest.“We’ll formally swear Chief Araiza in later,” noted Bobkiewicz. “My biggest concern is that people are edgy…”City residents were especially edgy when Santa Paula started to get wide television and radio news exposure.
