By Mary O’KEEFE

The Eaton Fire was devastating to many communities and recovery continues. Many families lost everything, including the “community feel” residents so loved. 

“It is surreal. This is the only home I know,” said Demitri Camperos as he stood in the dirt lot that was once his family home. 

He and his parents have worked hard to traverse the permitting jungle that everyone who has chosen to rebuild must go through. All the houses along the street where Camperos’ home once stood have burned. 

Camperos, a Crescenta Valley High School graduate, has been trying to work through the loss of his home. 

“It hasn’t been a year yet, [and] we know this is going to be a long process,” he said. He added those affected by the fire seem to be always looking for information on how to get through the loss and how to move forward. He realized these questions and feelings are probably the same thing the people in Paradise, California have gone through and continue to deal with. 

It has been seven years since a wildfire ravaged the town of Paradise. Like Altadena, the town was decimated. Camperos realized that his community had a lot, unfortunately, in common with Paradise. He decided one of the best ways was to talk to those in Paradise and decided one of the best ways to do that was to walk there. 

He asked himself what he could do about the devastation and sense of loss since he is just one person. He then found inspiration when he read about Doris Haddock, best known as Granny D, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 100. But when she was 88 she said she would walk across across the country to call attention to campaign finance reform. She began her walk at the Rose Bowl in January 1999.

“I just thought this might be a beautiful way to bridge the gap between two communities that are so far away from each other,” he said. 

Camperos is also hoping to raise awareness of wildfires and what is left in their wake, and hopefully people will find his walk inspirational. 

The trek is about 700 miles; Camperos is not a walker so this will be a bit challenging for him. 

“In the past four or five months I have been preparing for this so I’ve been walking two hours a day, sometimes three hours,” he said. “And I am acclimating myself to what the rigors could be [on the route].”

He has been walking while wearing a heavy backpack, which he will take on his trip. He has started a GoFundMe page where he is raising money not only to offset the costs of his walk but also to help Altadena by donating to Eaton Fire Collaborative, which is a group of over 150 local nonprofits, community groups and state officials that have united to support Altadena. 

He begins his walk today, Thursday, at the Rose Bowl and thinks it will take about six weeks. He does not plan to camp every night and hopes to walk at least six to eight hours every day. 

You can find his GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fire-victim-fundraiser-story-700-miles-on-foot. He will be sharing his progress at this link.

“I don’t want people to forget about Altadena,” he said as the media moves attention to other issues. “I want people to know we exist and we are here. There are a lot of folks struggling and I want to bring awareness to their [stories].” 

He also wants to show people they do have some power.

“When I lost my home it was strange; I distanced myself from others who meant well,” he said. He added what he did find was a strong connection with his community, including business owners who lost their livelihood.

Camperos has seen the property of many of his neighbors for sale, and worries about his town’s recovery. 

“I know we have an uncertain future,” he said. “It bothers me that we have lost so much history. [We were] a diverse community. I just hope people don’t get priced out of [Altadena].” 

He knows it is going to be a challenge to walk to Paradise but hopes to hear stories from those he meets along the way and to share stories of his community. 

“Altadena is such a special place,” he said.