My Dad, Bill Martin, is a victim of the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, California.  He escaped with only the clothes he was wearing.  We are thankful to his assisted living staff who saved his life and those of many others.  He lost everything he owns in the Paradise, CA Camp Fire. Dad is  almost 92 and is a veteran of WWII; he served in the Navy  medic corp.    

 Paradise is our hometown.  Dad lived there 64 years and worked as a veterinarian until he was 87 (in the early years the only town veterinarian).  Dad is well known on the ridge, having treated all kinds of animals including cows, horses, donkeys, skunks (yes, people had skunks for pets), raccoons, deer, squirrels, birds, cats, and dogs and more. 

The firestorm that annihilated Paradise gutted our family home, dad's old veterinary practice, and the assisted living facility where he had been recently moved.  He, like so many others, lost everything. His most treasured family mementos were in his apartment.    The tragedy in Paradise is overwhelming.  For someone dad's age the trauma of this experience  could be life ending. 

We are trying to relocate Dad to an assisted living facility in Santa Cruz.  Assisted living expenses in the bay area are significantly higher than the rural town of Paradise. He has only his social security as income.  We are trying to get expedited help from the Veterans Administration to cover a portion of the expenses.  The facilities ask for an upfront, non refundable fee.   We need to furnish his apartment and buy clothes for him.  Dad's beautiful girlfriend survived the fire and has relocated to Monterey. She lost everything as well.  If he is in Santa Cruz he will be able to see her while being close to family.

This campaign was set up by Dr. Martin's daughter, Lora.  Paradise is where I was raised.  The anchor of  where I called home is gone.  It is an overwhelming loss.   Dad was evacuated from his Paradise apartment during the Camp Fire and is currently staying with me in Santa Cruz until he is moved into an assisted living facility near me or one of my other siblings.   This campaign is to raise funds to help cover the upfront assisted facility fees, funding to help replace furniture and personal items needed for his new apartment,  new cloths,  to help cover some of the facility's first year monthly charges and medical care costs and other incidentals.   Any help would be very much appreciated. 

The top picture is dad with his grandson, Sergey, in Paradise, Ca a week before the fire.

The second picture is with his Dad's dear friend, Bess Parker. 
https://www.gofundme.com/basic-necessities-bess-parker