Man walks from Altadena to Paradise to raise funds for wildfire survivors

Wildfire survivor embarks on 700-mile journey

Demitri Camperos walked 700-miles, from Altadena to Paradise to raise money and awareness for wildfire survivors.

LOS ANGELES - After losing his family’s home in the devastating Eaton Fire in January, an Altadena man walked the length of California to raise money and awareness for wildfire survivors.

Demitri Camperos made his way through the Central Valley on a 700-mile trek from Altadena to Paradise. He launched the journey to support his community and to help fund the Eaton Fire Collaborative, a coalition of more than 150 nonprofits, community groups and state officials assisting fire-affected residents.

What they're saying:

"I am walking 700 miles from Altadena to Paradise to raise money for fire victims. Why? Because I’m one of them," Camperos said in a video posted prior to his trip.

Camperos said he began the walk at one of the lowest points of his life in the aftermath of the January wildfire.

"I was the heaviest I’d ever been since the fires, not in a good place physically, emotionally, mentally," he said. "But the simple act of walking — it’s the opposite of stagnation, right? Like it’s the opposite of ruminating and feeling depressed and feeling like all these external things are happening."

Armed with a backpack and a playlist "with all the walking songs you could imagine," Camperos posted regular updates to a GoFundMe page documenting his day-to-day progress.

He spent much of the time on the road reflecting and reconnecting. "I had all the time in the world, so I spent it making lots of phone calls and reaching out to all sorts of people," he said.

Camperos said the inspiration for the journey came from a high school class he was substitute teaching, where the lesson plan included a story about "a little old lady named Doris Haddock" who, in 1999, "walked from the Rose Bowl all the way to Washington D.C." He said, "If she could walk across the country, surely I could walk from one part of the state to another, and as I was planning and thinking about what that would look like Paradise was just the natural destination because…it hasn’t even been one full year for us in Altadena. It’s been seven for them, and I wanted to learn about the process, and wanted to hear from their stories too."

After more than a month on foot, he reached Paradise, the community destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, and was welcomed with open arms.

"There’s so much power and love in community. I felt that in Paradise," Camperos said. "Seven years later, they’re stronger than ever. And I know that we can get there in Altadena, and it really, it takes that effort."

His biggest lesson, he said, has been rediscovering people’s kindness. "Biggest takeaway, people are so kind, right?" he said. "I think in this day and age, it’s easier to find differences than it is to find points of interest that tie us together."

"The lessons I’ve learned, the people I’ve met, I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my entire life, and I owe that to this experience," he added.

In Paradise, the town’s mayor gave him a hat that reads "Paradise Strong," which he now carries as a symbol of solidarity.

"It says ‘Paradise Strong.’ You know, Altadena’s strong, right," he said. "So that unity throughout our state is something that I’m always grateful for. And you can feel it anywhere you go if you’re open to the kindness of people."