New Brunswickers flee Fort McMurray wildfire
New Brunswickers working in oil industry heartland joins thousands under mandatory evacuation order
New Brunswickers living and working in Fort McMurray, Alta. are among the thousands of residents forced to flee a raging wildfire that has wiped out entire neighbourhoods and continues to burn out of control.
A city-wide evacuation order is in place, meaning an estimated 80,000 people had to escape their homes and leave everything behind.
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Jenny Carson, a heavy equipment operator originally from Saint John, had about 30 minutes to pack up her belongings and look for shelter.
She spent the night driving through gridlocked traffic toward Fort Saskatchewan with her mother, two cats and her dog to get to the closest hotel that accepts pets.
"When we left [Fort] McMurray there was fire all on the side of the road, it was leaping the road, you could see where some of the houses, where it had already gone through and burnt one of the trailer parks and waterways," Carson said from the highway Wednesday morning.
Carson said she only had enough time to collect some clothes and important papers from her home.
"We don't have any clear reports on what's still standing, we just heard different rumours that certain areas are pretty much gone," she said.
"I don't even know when we can get back to [Fort] McMurray, if McMurray is even still standing, I have no clue. Nobody knows if they have a house right now
'It's not quite reality yet'
Drew Wilson of Mactaquac, who lives in Fort McMurray with his wife and children, was separated from his family during the evacuation of the city.
He works for Syncrude Canada, about 50 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, and tried to drive home from work to help them escape safely.
"The fire was on top of the road ... so I had to turn around," Wilson told Information Morning Fredericton.
"It was quite dark, the smoke was so thick it was blocking out the sun … there was just fire everywhere and smoke all over the place."
Wilson says his family arrived safely in Edmonton but he spent the night sleeping in his office chair.
"The worst part is just being separated from my family right now."
We just have to deal with it and keep our chin up and carry on.- Drew Wilson, evacuee
He believes his home has been destroyed but doesn't expect to know for sure for a few days.
"It's kind of crazy honestly. Just trying to help people stay calm and tell them it's going to be O.K. — it's a little hard on the nerves."
Many of the evacuees have fled north where oil field facilities have been turned into emergency shelters.
Wilson is doing what he can to help organize the many people who are staying at the work camp at Syncrude, which had been empty because of the downturn in the oil industry.
"I'm still trying to make sense of it all, it's not quite reality yet … we just have to deal with it and keep our chin up and carry on."
'We have friends who lost everything'
"We just had enough time to pack a bag of stuff, we had no idea how long we'd be gone so I just brought some clothes with me. A lot of people just brought a bag," Stears told Information Morning Saint John.
"We have friends who have lost everything."
Stears said she's been staying in touch with family back home and following the news for developments, in case she has to move again.----
"Right now our focus is on just making sure we're still safe. That's our number one focus right now," she said.
"We had a place to sleep and a bit of food last night so we're surviving."
Sleepless night for Moncton family
Michaeline Fayant, a student in Moncton, was up all night talking to her parents who live in Fort McMurray.
They made it out of the city safely but Fayant says they were searching for a place to stay after losing their truck in the fire.
"They're at the point now where they're so overwhelmed they don't know what to think any more," she said.
"They're just really stressed about all their belongings and sentimental things and about everyone that they love and care about."
Moncton student Maximilien LeBlanc was also on the telephone with his parents in Fort McMurray several times overnight.
LeBlanc says his mother was able to save the family dog in the emergency evacuation and told him the evacuation should have been mandatory earlier, before things escalated.
"She did not have time to go back in the house to grab anything, she put the dog in the car and had to leave because she could see fire," LeBlanc said.
Fayant says it is difficult to be so far away.
"I feel like it's a bad movie, that's the best way I can explain it. I just obsessively am watching all the videos and looking at all the pictures. I feel like it's a video, a movie."
LeBlanc is also following the developments closely and says he is trying to figure out what he can do to help from afar.
"Honestly if I had the opportunity to go and volunteer my help I would in a heartbeat. I feel like there should be more people helping the city and it's hard being far away."
Atlantic Red Cross ready to help
Dan Bedell, communications director in Atlantic Canada for the Canadian Red Cross, says there are a number of key people in the region who have experience running large shelter operations.
"Our Alberta team is already doing all of that but we just know that a call will go out very shortly for additional support from across the country and we're already seeing who is available to go."
The Red Cross has also set up a fundraising appeal for fire victims. Financial donations can be made to online at redcross.ca or by calling toll-free 1-800-418-1111.
The city of Fort McMurray has formally requested military assistance, and has been told to expect the army and air force will start sending in troops within a matter of days.
With files from Information Morning Saint John, Information Morning Fredericton