Fort McMurray wildfire: Family details harrowing escape

Angie Murrin's eyes filled with tears when she and her family got off the plane in Charlottetown on Sunday night.

"When I saw the rain and the mist, I knew we were safe at last."

Murrin and her husband, Terrence, were at the Charlottetown office of the Canadian Red Cross on Wednesday to pick up supplies.

The couple and their two daughters, Avalon, 9, and Eveada, 3, escaped the fires in Fort McMurray with little more than the clothes on their backs. The family landed in P.E.I. without socks or warm jackets.

We're all alive and well. That's what counts.— Angie Murrin

"But so many people are worse off than us. We're all so thankful for everyone's help. People are so generous," said Murrin.

The care packages they received at the Red Cross included teddy bears for the kids, bathroom supplies and vouchers for use in stores.

As the Murrins loaded the supplies into their rented car in the Red Cross parking lot, a steady stream of Islanders arrived to make cash donations to the relief agency.

'We have to stay strong'

Murrin said she's done a lot of crying over the past week.

"Mostly at night when nobody can see," she said. "We have to stay strong for the kids."    

Inside the Red Cross office, Murrin flipped through photos and videos on her cellphone as she and her husband described the ordeal their family endured.

"The smoke looked like the mushroom cloud from a explosion," said Terrence Murrin. "Unreal."

When the fire started, Angie Murrin captured video of smoke billowing on the horizon as children laughed and played outside the elementary school their older daughter attended.

Their younger daughter was in daycare nearby, while Terrence Murrin was at work at the Syncrude plant a thirty-minute drive away.

Order to evacuate

Fear started to rise for Murrin when they were given the order to evacuate.

The smoke looked like the mushroom cloud from a explosion.- Terrence Murrin

"The city was gridlocked. We couldn't get out. Terrence couldn't get home," she said.

The family had lived in Fort McMurray for nine years, and shared a large house with Terrence's parents and brother.

With roads gridlocked and ash falling from the darkened skies, Murrin, her in-laws and the children prepared to attempt an off-road escape on all-terrain vehicles.

"At the last moment, the traffic started moving, so we changed plan," she said.

They headed north to the Syncrude plant to rendezvous with Terrence.

The 35-kilometre drive took five hours.

"People were driving up both sides of the road and on the meridian. Some cars were abandoned. People were walking.  Everyone was desperate to get out," said Murrin.

Family reunited 

"There had been a lot of prayers," said Terrence Murrin, adding he was grateful when the family was reunited at the Syncrude camp.

That night, they slept in the work-camp dormitories with other employees and families.

The next day, eight members of the Murrin's extended family, including in-laws and cousins, prepared to attempt to outrun the flames.

With fuel running short, they siphoned gas from Terrence's truck to replenish the Hummer in which they hoped to escape.

"All the gas stations were either out of fuel, or closed," said Terrence Murrin.

Devastation on road to safety

Photos on Murrin's cellphone show the devastation the family saw as they drove back to Fort McMurray, and beyond, on their way to safety.

They held wet towels to their faces as they drove past the smouldering remains of familiar buildings and landmarks.

As they drove along Highway 881, they passed people on the roadside giving out free gasoline, from jerry cans and larger tanks mounted in the backs of pick-up trucks.

"They were just giving it away, trying to help," he said.

2nd fire blocks escape

But their escape plans hit a roadblock when a second fire broke out ahead of them — the result of a collision involving a fuel-tanker truck.

"Now we were trapped between two fires," said Terrence Murrin. "We had to turn back and find a different way out."

Eventually, the family found its way to Athabasca, and then Edmonton, where the family slept in a university dormitory for three nights.

It was there that they made the decision to return to the Island.

"We realized it was going to be a long time before we could go back to our house," said Murrin.

Summer property becomes new home

The Murrin family is now living in a summer property they own near Montague.

We're all alive and well. That's what counts.- Angie Murrin

"It's a fixer-upper," said Terrence. "We've been scrubbing and cleaning non-stop."

They've enrolled their older daughter in a local school and expect she will finish the year there.

Murrin may take a job at a restaurant in Montague while her husband expects to be called back to work at Syncrude some time soon.

Fort Mac house still standing

The couple's home in Fort McMurray is still standing.

They're waiting to find out how much damage was caused by the smoke, water and chemicals dumped by aircraft while fighting the flames.

"We're all alive and well," said Angie Murrin. "That's what counts."

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