Huge Fort McMurray fire spread quickly, caught ex-Manitoban off guard

A business owner originally from Manitoba says he was forced to flee his home in Fort McMurray this week and leave most of his personal belongings behind as wildfire continues to devastate the northern Alberta community.

Jon Simcoe moved from Oakbank, Man., to Fort McMurray after landing a job in the oil industry. He later bought into real estate and now owns and rents multiple residential properties in the city.

Simcoe said when the fire first started to threaten the peripheries of the city, he got the impression his home and rental properties would be safe and not require evacuating. 

"We were told that as long as the wind didn't start to blow eastward that we'd be OK, so I went about my normal business, which is dealing with the different business owners and dealing with the properties that I've got," Simcoe said.

"I was in one of those meetings when, we were in a restaurant, when another gentleman came in and said, 'You know guys, there's evacuations.'"

The man encouraged Simcoe and his acquaintances to consider going home, packing up and heading out of the city. When they emerged from the restaurant, Simcoe said he knew the risk-level had elevated dramatically.

"In about the 45 minutes that I was at the restaurant, the sky went from dark grey to very dark black and you could hardly see anything," he said.

Simcoe went home and took his cats, a couple loose items and a few days worth of clothes on the road, still thinking at the time that he would be able to return home in no time.

"I wish I had brought more things — I didn't really think it would get this bad," he said. "I thought this would blow over, that they would control the fire…. Now I can see it's absolutely huge, having ripped apart a couple of communities that are part of Fort McMurray."

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Simcoe said he encountered RCMP on the road, who were telling motorists to steer clear of southbound Highway 63, as the fire was in the process of spreading through the area.

After fuelling up his vehicle and grabbing some snacks at a gas station that were "absolutely critical for later on" in his journey, Simcoe said he passed through a community that was only under voluntary evacuation. That's where he heard news that exiting from the south of the city was still a possibility.

Simcoe drove south about 2½ hours to Boyle, Alta., where he is currently holed up at a cabin with a friend.

While to his knowledge the fire hasn't yet spread through his neighbourhood in Fort McMurray, his home is just across the street from a "green belt" of trees he fears could serve as tinder if the fire doesn't die down soon.

"If that area goes up, my house would be right near by it," he said. "I don't think my house has been lost yet from the reports and data I'm seeing, but it's certainly still at risk."

Simcoe has checked in with all of his rental tenants, who have all escaped safely. Most of his properties are in a northern part of the city that remains untouched by the fire, but a few other homes he owns are likely to be lost in the blaze, he said.​

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It could be weeks before people are allowed to return to their homes — or what remains of them — and assess the damage. In the meantime, Simcoe said he's considering travelling to Winnipeg to stay with his parents.

"It's definitely very shocking. I never thought that such devastation would come and hit so hard. It really happened quickly. I really just hope that the town of Fort McMurray can get through this," Simcoe said.

"I know that it's a very hardy town. It's the type of community that stops to pick up a stranger on the side of the road. I'm pretty sure everyone will be able to get through this. We can do it together."