Months after the Eaton Fire destroyed his family home, Demitri Camperos, of Altadena, realized he needed to do something.“I was not in a great spot mentally,” he said on Friday. “For the longest time, I have felt like things are stagnant or that I’m powerless.It was a documentary he put on for a high school history class about activist Doris Haddock that first sparked the idea: He would walk from Altadena to Paradise, and he would raise money for Eaton Fire victims along the way.“Those are two sites of some of the most devastating fires in our state’s history and although they’re really far apart in terms of mileage, which I’m walking, we’re closer in spirit than maybe most people might think,” he said.It took a few months of training and research, as well as the convincing of his loved ones that this was something he needed to do, before he set out on his trek. He walked through Elk Grove on Friday, catching up with KCRA 3 about his journey so far.“Thinking back to January, to the night when we were evacuating, it felt very surreal and dreamlike,” he said. “I was staying with my parents. I helped them grab photo albums that were irreplaceable, but, you know, in the back of your mind, you think, well, we’ll be back before we know it. No big deal.”He shared he found himself really struggling in the months that followed—physically, emotionally and with the fact that other California communities have also experienced this kind of tragedy. “When it occurred to me to visit Paradise, it was like magic,” he said. “It was like, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. It all kind of fell into place from there.”Camperos hopes to learn from the people of Paradise, a community devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire that claimed 86 lives. “I’m really seeking just a wide range of thoughts and feelings and stories because for us in Altadena, it hasn’t even been one full year yet,” he said, “We’re still in the sort of disorientation kind of phase of things. It’s difficult to know what the road map looks like.”For three weeks, Camperos has been walking and raising thousands of dollars for the Eaton Fire Collaborative. The funds raised will cover what he described as minimal expenses of the trip, and the rest will be donated to the organization supporting the rebuilding and recovery of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. He shared that he’s rotating between two pairs of shoes and averaging around 15 to 18 miles a day. The kindness of strangers along the way and the emotional healing that has come from walking, he said, has shocked him. “I feel the community,” he said. “There’s such a spirit of connectedness that comes even when you’re walking by yourself.”For more information about his walk and fundraising efforts, follow this link.For more information about the Eaton Fire Collaborative, follow this link. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

ELK GROVE, Calif. —

Months after the Eaton Fire destroyed his family home, Demitri Camperos, of Altadena, realized he needed to do something.

“I was not in a great spot mentally,” he said on Friday. “For the longest time, I have felt like things are stagnant or that I’m powerless.

It was a documentary he put on for a high school history class about activist Doris Haddock that first sparked the idea: He would walk from Altadena to Paradise, and he would raise money for Eaton Fire victims along the way.

“Those are two sites of some of the most devastating fires in our state’s history and although they’re really far apart in terms of mileage, which I’m walking, we’re closer in spirit than maybe most people might think,” he said.

It took a few months of training and research, as well as the convincing of his loved ones that this was something he needed to do, before he set out on his trek. He walked through Elk Grove on Friday, catching up with KCRA 3 about his journey so far.

“Thinking back to January, to the night when we were evacuating, it felt very surreal and dreamlike,” he said. “I was staying with my parents. I helped them grab photo albums that were irreplaceable, but, you know, in the back of your mind, you think, well, we’ll be back before we know it. No big deal.”

He shared he found himself really struggling in the months that followed—physically, emotionally and with the fact that other California communities have also experienced this kind of tragedy.

“When it occurred to me to visit Paradise, it was like magic,” he said. “It was like, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. It all kind of fell into place from there.”

Camperos hopes to learn from the people of Paradise, a community devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire that claimed 86 lives.

“I’m really seeking just a wide range of thoughts and feelings and stories because for us in Altadena, it hasn’t even been one full year yet,” he said, “We’re still in the sort of disorientation kind of phase of things. It’s difficult to know what the road map looks like.”

For three weeks, Camperos has been walking and raising thousands of dollars for the Eaton Fire Collaborative. The funds raised will cover what he described as minimal expenses of the trip, and the rest will be donated to the organization supporting the rebuilding and recovery of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre.

He shared that he’s rotating between two pairs of shoes and averaging around 15 to 18 miles a day. The kindness of strangers along the way and the emotional healing that has come from walking, he said, has shocked him.

“I feel the community,” he said. “There’s such a spirit of connectedness that comes even when you’re walking by yourself.”

For more information about his walk and fundraising efforts, follow this link.

For more information about the Eaton Fire Collaborative, follow this link.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel