A chimney remains from a home burned in the Camp Fire, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
MURRAY — They lost everything, but not each other. An extended family fled northern California’s Camp Fire and took refuge in Murray.
The blaze has destroyed thousands of homes and displaced tens of thousands of people. It has also taken dozens of lives.
Topher Dalton’s 97-year-old grandmother’s home in Paradise, California burned.
“It’s the most stable, solid thing we’ve ever had in our lives,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine that it’s gone.”
Dalton and his relatives have tattoos of the lamppost that stood in front of his grandmother’s home.
His home burned, as well as his mother-in-law’s home. They escaped, along with his wife and their three kids as the blaze raged.
When the smoke clears, Valerie Fisher, Dalton’s mother-in-law, wants to go back to Paradise.
“You hear of these miracles where there’s little trinkets people find,” she said. “I just want to see if we can find one little trinket or one little memory.
“And I need to see my friends again.”
They are grateful for all the charity they have received and urge people to find ways to send money to other fire victims.
