For years, Cameron Murray’s five-finger flamenco guitar was part of the soundtrack of downtown Point Reyes Station. But last Wednesday night, in a matter of minutes, Mr. Murray lost everything: the Prius he lived in, his only guitar and his loving pit bull companion, Rallo. Firefighters responded to a fully engulfed vehicle at around 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo parking lot. The dog had been trapped inside and Mr. Murray’s belongings were incinerated. 

The day after the incident, community members banded together to brainstorm how they could assist him. One resident called for a fundraiser, and last Saturday, Mr. Murray’s friend Jenna Rempel, a cook at Saltwater Oyster Depot, launched a GoFundMe campaign. The donations have poured in. 

“No amount of money can help with the heartbreak of losing one’s best friend,” Ms. Rempel wrote. “We’d like to raise some money for Cam to replace his car, which was his shelter, and his guitar, among other things.”

Mr. Murray said his father was a foreman in the automotive division of the Marines, which meant the family moved around the Bay Area. They chased a dream of building a house in Point Reyes Station but settled on moving into one when Mr. Murray was 12. While he was a student at Sir Francis Drake High School, his parents left West Marin and he was taken in by his best friend, Blaise Goelet, and his family. Until Mr. Goelet’s death in 2018, the two were inseparable. 

Losing his closest friend made him realize the only things in life with real value are personal connections. He has been without permanent shelter since March, when he said authorities confiscated his trailer. Immediately after the car fire, Mr. Murray stayed with friends in Inverness Park, but he has since left and is unsure where he’ll stay next. 

“It seems there’s been more tragedy each year since Blaise left,” Mr. Murray said. “When my mom died a year later, it was just Rallo, my guitar and me. The look on people’s faces when they hear classical music in places they don’t expect is what fills my soul.”

Mr. Murray taught himself guitar and bass and grew up playing rock and alternative music. He quit playing music altogether in his 20s, but after Mr. Goelet’s death, he picked up the guitar again and began learning classical music. He made a living busking and playing at cafés. In March 2020, he was planning to go on a tour of the Southwest with a group of gypsy jazz artists. Lockdown began two days before they were set to travel. 

In Point Reyes Station during the pandemic, Mr. Murray often set up on the island between Wells Fargo and the Palace Market, where he played his improvised classical music, which he enlivened with Spanish and Mediterranean influences. Claudia Burke, who co-owns Leona’s, a boutique across the street, said she was always entranced by his playing and Rallo’s signature waddle. “His music is beautiful. I wish he could just sit there every day, playing guitar,” Ms. Burke said.

More recently, he’s played at the Monday open mic nights at the Western. 

“His style is inimitable,” said Point Reyes Station resident Simon Woodward, who has played with Mr. Murray for years and busked with him beside Toby’s Feed Barn. “A mix of a few different genres with a really unique technique.” He added, “Cameron is a complicated soul. That dog and guitar—they were his whole life.”

Rallo, whom Mr. Murray had rescued at six weeks old, was aging and developing cataracts. According to Point Reyes resident Maddy Sobel, it wasn’t unusual that the dog would wander around town until a tourist corralled him and searched anxiously for his owner. But no matter how far Rallo strayed, Ms. Sobel said he would always find his way back. She often helped Mr. Murray care for the dog, providing food from the Humane Society. “He was sweet as pie, and he would sit beside Cameron with a big grin as he played music,” she said. 

Mr. Murray said he was blindsided by the fire last week and had no idea how it started. He was worried about such an accident and took preemptive measures to avoid one. The silver lining has been the outpouring of support from those who care about him.   

“The thing that I have always felt like was missing in my life was acceptance and community. It was right in front of me this whole time,” Mr. Murray said.

The remoteness of the coast presents obstacles for those in need of social services. The closest homeless shelters are in Petaluma and the populated towns of the 101 corridor. Sarah Graham, a friend of Mr. Murray’s, said she was working to connect him with the services available from the resource center at West Marin Community Services. The organization provides vouchers for the thrift store next door and for propane tanks from the Olema Campground, along with bus passes for those who need to reach support over the hill. Its food pantry provides meals five days a week. A care team from Community Action Marin works with the resource center to help connect homeless people with shelter and medical appointments, and other services are available through the West Marin Health & Human Services building in Point Reyes Station. 

A benefit concert takes place this Sunday, Dec. 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. to raise funds for Mr. Murray. Ms. Rempel is working with the Western to showcase his songs and a few performances by his friends and other patrons of the open mic night. Mr. Murray said he hopes to use the concert as a way to show his thanks to those who have helped in his trying time. 

To donate to Cameron Murray’s GoFundMe campaign, search “Cameron Rallo” at https://www.gofundme.com.