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A Hero Among Us
By Tracy Rolling
 | | The Celaya Family. |
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"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
- Christopher Reeve
It was easy to recognize the community's heroes during the devastating Witch Creek fire. They were local law enforcement, firefighters from across the state, uniformed men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and national agencies established to help in times of disaster.
But there were other unnamed heroes among us.
There were volunteers who protected their neighbor's property and delivered food and water to residents and unattended livestock. There were citizens who provided temporary shelter to virtual strangers and charitably gave to those who had nothing had left.
These champions inspired and confirmed the spirit of Ramona by their actions, and today we share one hero's story.
Bernie Celaya grew up in Lakeside and attended El Capitan High School. He and his wife Lori have lived in Ramona for 10 years and have three children, Courtney, Christopher, and Morgan, who attend Ramona Elementary School.
An active volunteer in the community, Celaya has coached Ramona Pop Warner Football as well as Ramona PONY Baseball. This season, he is sponsoring two PONY teams through his business Black Mountain Electric, Inc., which specializes in electrical services for residential and commercial customers.
During the Witch Creek fire, Celaya had a strong desire to help others. Living on the east side of town, he recognized many homeowners were without water, as their wells had been depleted and there was no electricity available for their pumps.
Celaya went to the Ramona Sheriff's Substation and asked if he could be used as a resource for homeowners who were in need of a power supply to their water pumps. The Sheriff's Department agreed and granted him a temporary pass identifying him as an official aide.
Celaya was able to help nearly two-dozen residents replenish their well water supply by using an industrial generator stored in back of one of his service trucks.
When asked, "Do you consider yourself a Good Samaritan?" Celaya simply says, "I just wanted to help any way that I could. It's in my nature and was taught to me by my mom and dad, Luz and Alvaro Celaya. I don't need recognition; I'm just grateful that I could set an example for my children and help some people in my community."
If you have a story about a local hero you would like to share, please email it to news@ramonajournal.com.
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