After surveying for the umpteenth time the charred remains of what was once his home and what was left of the family business after a wildfire tore through Ashland, Ore., on Tuesday, Nkeruwem “Tony” Akpan felt yet another surge of anguish.
His family — wife, four children, sister and mother — was safe, for which he gave repeated, heartfelt thanks for answered prayers.
Then, “ ‘Oh my God,’ ” the former two-sport University of Hawaii athlete said he suddenly realized, “ ‘all my (mementos) from UH and my pro career were gone, too.’ The clippings my wife had put together, my Western Athletic Conference (2001-02 basketball) championship ring. …We got out of there with some bags and little more than the clothes that we had on.”
A gofundme.com account — “Fire ravaged family needs our help” — has been set up.
They were keepsakes of a special time and special places, when he played basketball (2001-03) and football (2003-05) for the Rainbow Warriors and met his wife-to-be, Robin, on campus.
He became a fan favorite at the Stan Sheriff Center, where the chant, “To-ny! To-ny! To-ny!” arose with each rejected shot and a force in football, where he blocked some crucial field goals.
It was a period when all things seemed possible for the 6-foot, 7-inch Akpan who left his native Nigeria at age 16 to come to the U.S. to play basketball and get a foot in the door for a college education.
In time he would be recruited for basketball to UH and also be introduced to football. He played both sports professionally, football in Canada and basketball in France, Germany and Qatar before settling down in his wife’s hometown to help run a business, do some coaching, serve on the school board foundation and raise a family.
Akpan, who said he had just been laid off at the YMCA four days earlier due to the pandemic, was taking his 5-year-old son to the first day of school when he saw the fire begin to sweep into their town of 22,000, 16 miles north of the California border.
“I saw the smoke from an area where I had some friends, so I was calling them to see if they needed me to pick up their kids since they were at work,” Akpan said.
Before he knew it, Akpan said his wife was calling to say flames were also closing in on the area 7 miles outside of town where they lived and operated an organic produce business, Shasta View Wheatgrass.
By the time he reached home, navigating through the smoke and around the fires that forced closure of the I-5 freeway, the flames were raging and evacuations had been ordered.
Airborne water dumps missed the house and Akpan said, “I tried to put the fire out but the winds were gusting so much, 30 mph-40 mph, it was just so big, so fast that it was overwhelming me. It was horrific.”
The fire eventually burned the family’s 2,500-square foot home “to the ground,” Akpan said, and also claimed one greenhouse and much of their produce.
Wednesday afternoon Akpan returned to sift through what remained of the house and try to help put out smoldering spots that could still threaten his neighbors.
“We’re good,” Akpan said. “We’re just moving along, trying to find somewhere for the night. It is a situation I’ve never been in before and don’t understand it. But, with prayers, I think, we’ll be fine.”
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
