By Mary O’KEEFE

After a very long walk, Demitri Camperos has returned home. 

Camperos, a Crescenta Valley High School alumnus, lost his family home in Altadena during the Eaton Fire. 

“It is surreal,” he said in a previous interview with CVW. “This is the only home I know.”

Like many who lost their homes in the fire, he and his parents are working to get the proper permits, meeting with the architect and traversing endless red tape before even getting to the point of being able to rebuild. 

Camperos said that he and his neighbors always seem to be looking for information on how to get through the loss and move forward. He realized the questions and feelings must be similar to those who also faced this type of destruction – like those in Paradise, California. So he decided to take a walk to find out. 

The Camp Fire in Butte County destroyed the town of Paradise. It began on Nov. 8, 2018 and was contained on Nov. 25, 2018. It started due to a “poorly maintained electrical transmission line from PG&E,” according to online reports. The fire contributed to 85 deaths and at one point 52,000 people in the County were under evacuation orders. 

On Oct. 15 Camperos set off to walk to Paradise, a trek of about 700 miles, and on Nov. 20 he returned home. Now home, he is reflecting on the people he met and the lessons he learned.

“It took me 33 days to make it to Paradise,” he said. 

He said his feet are much better than he thought they would be; he hasn’t yet tried to return to his hobby of running though walking is just fine. 

“My body must have acclimated,” he said. 

When asked if there was one thing he learned during his walk, he said, “There’s the emotional side of it.” 

“The thing that surprised me more than I expected was just the kindness of strangers. There were a lot of people who would pull over to the side [of the road] and offer me a water bottle,” he said. “It was just the general acts of kindness that really surprised me. There was one day, it was mildly raining and I had a poncho on. Someone pulled over with a brand new rain jacket – it had a tag on it – and gave it to me. Just moments like that … they always move me because I never expected them.”

Many of the people who gave him things or stopped to see if he was okay did not know about the purpose behind his walk; they just saw someone they felt was in need. 

“People throughout the entire state of California, no matter what your background, no matter how rural or urban [the place was] – people are good and kind,” he said. 

He added he did not carry a sign indicating why he was walking, although in retrospect he thinks he should have; however, he likes the fact that the kindness was so organic, without a purpose other than to share kindness.

But when it came to what he learned about fire recovery, that component was more practical than emotional. 

“I learned a lot about recovery and rebuilding,” he said. “The first thing [he learned] was more obvious – it’s going to take a long time. I know people in their own internal timeline are thinking three or five years [for Altadena to recover], but it will probably be closer to 10 years.”

Paradise’s fire occurred seven years ago but the residents and businesses are still in the process of rebuilding. Camperos said he had a preconceived notion that Paradise would be completely rebuilt.

“They easily have another seven to 10 years to completely be done with everything they want to do, which includes putting power lines underground and making sure all new homes are completely compliant with updated fire regulations,” he said. 

Camperos said though he knows that Altadena and Paradise are not the same types of communities he did find a lot of commonality. 

“[The timeline] may sound dismaying to people, but there are also little victories that really add up,” he said. “For example, in Paradise people just finished constructing a plaza called ‘Hope.’”

The community also transplanted a tree that is seven years old to commemorate when the fire began and how regrowth can take place. 

Camperos said he knows Altadena is undergoing this type of recovery as well including the rebuilding of the Charles White Park, to which Walt Disney Imagineers donated $5 million. 

He said he spoke to many in Paradise and found their attitudes uplifting and hopeful. Community members spoke about a thick forest of trees that surrounded the town prior to the fire. They noted how beautiful the trees were and were sorry to see how many were lost – but then they pointed to the beautiful vistas they had never seen before due to the thick forest of trees and commented on their beauty. 

“It’s like things aren’t going to be the same but change is not necessarily bad,” Camperos said. “There’s a lot of joy that can come from the evolution of [change]. That was a common theme I heard from people in Paradise.”

He acknowledges that the community of Altadena may not be able to currently see positive change since everything is still so raw, but Paradise’s transformation gave him hope.

Altadena and Paradise have another thing in common, which seems to be an issue in all areas affected by wildfire – developers coming in to buy up land and change the “neighborhood feel” of a town.

Camperos said he talked to elected officials in Paradise who said they have dealt with several issues including what they called “vultures,” which includes shady contractors. In fact, one council member has been devoted to overseeing contractors.

“That’s made a huge difference in their opinion,” he said. 

For now Camperos is happy to be home and grateful to the many people he met along the way. His plan is to continue to bring the story of Altadena to other communities and to remind people that the struggle to recover is not a race but a marathon. 

His immediate future plans are to take all of the photos and recordings he made along the way and create something he can share with other organizations, continue to raise funds for his Altadena community and continue to share hope with his neighbors.