Turning 3 at evacuation shelter, boy gets birthday surprise

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Callahan realized it was the boy’s birthday earlier in the day Monday when he was walking around handing out stickers to children staying at the shelter. The boy’s father mentioned that he and his wife had planned to make their son a cake.

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“I’ve got a son that’s 2-and-a-half, and this young man is turning 3,” Callahan said. “I figured, ‘What would I want for my kid if he were in that situation?’ “

Mike Wrobel, who took the video, said other evacuees joined in singing “Happy Birthday” and seemed touched by the moment.

“It sure was a bleak setting. But I was grinning ear to ear, as was everyone else,” Wrobel said. “It was a little bit of joy in a situation filled with a lot of sadness.”

Neither Wrobel nor Callahan know much about the boy or his parents, just that the boy’s name is Junior. Wrobel was hoping to reconnect with them Tuesday to show them the video he took and how many people were enjoying it.

Nearly 200,000 people were ordered evacuated Sunday over fears that a damaged spillway at a Lake Oroville dam could fail and unleash a wall of water. The evacuees were allowed to return home Tuesday after two nights of uncertainty, but they were warned they may still have to again flee to higher ground on a moment’s notice if hastily made repairs to the battered structure don’t hold.

Amanda Lee Myers, The Associated Press