The Camp Fire took nearly everything, but two Paradise runners made it to the state meet

For Sam Walker and his his family, the Camp Fire is a nightmare they will not soon forget.

But maybe for a brief moment this Thanksgiving weekend they were able to find joy, away from the ash, rubble and ruin.

The Walkers came to Fresno to cheer on Paradise High runner Gabriel Price, a family friend, and his teammate, Patrick Roehling, as they competed in the CIF state cross country championships Saturday at Woodward Park.

“We’re here to support Gabe Price and his family,” Walker said. “They lost their home in the fire. We’re just here to encourage and it’s a pretty cool thing that Gabe can compete in this. We just want to show our support as well ... support from our whole city.”

The Walkers lost their home, too, in the fire that has claimed 84 lives and left 475 unaccounted for, according to the latest report by the Butte County Sheriff.

Walker, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Paradise, said he remembers seeing the fire at the early stages.

“I called my wife to let her know that we should start packing. We didn’t find out until later ... we never had a call or anything, but I had a scanner on and I know they said to evacuate. I had to go pick up my son and get my dad who hasn’t been able to walk for two years and load him in the car. It was a really scary experience.

“We all made it safely off the ridge and we’re very grateful and thankful that we did. Our whole family did. It was a surreal experience. You just don’t expect something to move that quickly. We have fires every year, but nothing every like that. We lost some friends in the fire.”

Because of the fire, the Paradise runners missed their North Section qualifying meet.

But they got a second chance with a specially arranged qualifier and competed Saturday in boys Division IV.

Roehling finished in 109th (17 minutes 17.7 seconds) and Price 121st (17:26.2).

This story was originally published November 24, 2018 at 2:26 PM.