Demitri Camperos (left) stands with Harkey House hosts Lee and Bob Jones during his overnight stay in Yuba City, a memorable stop along his 700-mile firewalk to Paradise. Photo courtesy of Demitri Camperos

PARADISE, CA (MPG) - Altadena resident Demitri Camperos completed his 700-mile firewalk on Tuesday, Nov. 18, arriving at his final destination — Paradise, California — shortly after noon. As he reached the town’s welcome sign, he was met by dozens of locals who gathered to cheer him on and support his cause.

“It was more than I expected,” Camperos said. “To feel all that energy was one of my top life experiences without question.”

From there, the crowd escorted him to Hope Plaza, where his journey officially came to an end. Camperos ultimately raised nearly $8,000 for fire-recovery efforts, specifically the Eaton Fire Collaborative. But he said the walk was never really meant to be about money.

“Paradise was the victim of its own fire seven years ago and people are still rebuilding and just doing the best they can with such resilience,” Camperos said. “With Altadena, we haven't even had one full year yet of recovery from the Eaton Fire — I was eager to learn more firsthand from the people here in regard to bureaucracy and timelines, but also on a personal and emotional level — what are the things they look forward to, what are the milestones that have been great to see throughout the community, and what's the joy that we can share back home in Altadena?”

Camperos began his walk on Oct. 16 at the charred remains of his former home in Altadena. The idea, he said, came unexpectedly while he was substitute-teaching a high school history class. Students were watching a documentary about Doris “Granny D” Haddock, who walked from the Pasadena Rose Bowl to Washington, D.C., in 1999 at the age of 90 to raise national awareness for campaign finance reform — a movement that helped pave the way for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

“It was like night and day, almost like flipping the light on in your head,” Camperos explained. “I thought, ‘Wow, if this little old lady can do something so inspiring and cool, surely I could do something in California within my own state that’s been impacted by fires relentlessly.’”

The idea stuck, and after four months of research and preparation — despite having never backpacked before — he committed to the journey. He also promised loved ones he would stay sheltered each night, relying on a patchwork of relatives, B&Bs, hotels, and, at times, kind strangers.

“There’s a whole culture of people on bikes traveling across the country and offering people to stay with them and vice versa,” he said, recommending an app called Warm Showers. “I met an incredible retired dairy farmer who was a cyclist and the experience that I had, 300 feet away from his dairy farm, was unforgettable… definitely not an experience I had on my bingo card.”

On day 31 of his 33-day route, Camperos walked through Wheatland, taking in the migrating waterfowl and the distant silhouette of the Sutter Buttes. By nightfall, he had found a warm refuge at Yuba City’s historic Harkey House and spent the evening talking with hosts Bob and Lee Jones.

“That Harkey House was fantastic, the people who run it — Bob and Lee Jones — so hospitable, so kind,” Camperos said. “There’s something so moving about being in a home 150 years old that has all the modern amenities and everything. It was just fantastic.”

“He was an amazing guest with fascinating stories,” Lee Jones added.

Like other long-distance walkers — including the Walking America couple who passed through Yuba City earlier this month — Camperos avoided freeways and often “relied on the kindness of strangers” along the way. He said that generosity became one of the defining, healing parts of the journey.

“Ever since the fires I was not in the best place mentally and emotionally,” he said. “This trip gave me a lot of pride for my state. California — for all the things people criticize it for — it’s beautiful, it’s wonderful and so diverse in its landscape and scenery, and the people are just warm and fantastic.”

After reaching Paradise, Camperos met up with a friend who drove him back to Altadena. He plans to finish out the school year as a substitute teacher and hopes to continue pursuing community-oriented work and fire-awareness efforts.

“For me, more than anything else, it was just getting the word out and reminding people that we’re here — the news moves on, but we’re in it,” Camperos said. “We’re in it for the long haul, and any bit of reminder that we’re doing our best, and that spirit of resilience is very important to me.”

Those still  interested in donating to Camperos’s cause can visit his GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/fire-victim-fundraiser-story-700-miles-on-foot.