A father of four from Denver spent his Thanksgiving driving an RV from Colorado to California. James Faircloths eyes could not believe what he was seeing as he watched the video of the Camp Fire devour whole neighborhoods in California.
He decided to do more than sending prayers or even money. He left Denver and drove to Chico, California in an RV filled with items to donate, and even left the actual RV as well.
Faircloths took his young daughter with him on the excursion.
“We were watching some of what’s going on out there and talking about what if that was us and what would we do,” he said. “And I told (my daughter) what the idea was and she was 100 percent on board. She said, ‘God and Santa Claus would be really proud of us for this.’”
My 6 y/o daughter and I raised funds for and purchased an RV and are driving from CO to Chico. We would love to donate to first responder family who lost home in fire. Help us identify family? @JerryBrownGov @GavinNewsom #campfire #doingsomething pic.twitter.com/x87zmeseDe
— James Faircloth (@jamesfaircloth3) November 22, 2018
Faircloths set up a GoFundMe drive on Saturday asking for donations to help pay for the RV. The funds helped pay for the vehicle and donations. He hope to leave the RV with the family of a first responder whose home was lost in the blaze.
The man who sold him the RV let it go for about a third of the price so that he could support the effort. When he left Denver, he reported to the local TV station that another person wanted to donate an RV.
A California RV park has also stepped up, Faircloth said, and is donating free spaces for both of the RVs so the families can stay in the park.
Faircloth and his daughter are arriving early Friday morning, he said. High winds and snow forced them to make a detour, adding four hours to the drive.