FORT MCMURRAY
On the heels of the news that a forest fire which ravaged parts of Fort McMurray, Alta., may take months to extinguish, a fundraiser for a former Fort Providence family whose home is feared lost has topped $2,000.

The view from JJ's vehicle driving into Fort McMurray was of an inferno billowing out across the road. - photo courtesy of JJ Canadien

On the morning of May 10, the fundraised amount sat at $2,015. That money will go toward JJ and Shauna Canadien, who made the move from Fort Providence to Fort McMurray nearly four years ago. The couple, along with their daughters Gabriella, 7, and Alessandra, 8, had a home in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood, one of the hardest-hit by the fire.

Estimates have the devastation in Beacon Hill at 70 per cent. Although Shauna and JJ are certain their house was one of the ones that burned, they say some good news has reached their ears. Speaking to the Deh Cho Drum on May 5 from Shauna's sister's home in Plamondon, the couple said they had just heard two of their friends' houses are still standing, along with a strip mall, a Catholic school and the public school which their girls attend.

"It's the little things that we have to be grateful for because it could have been so much worse," Shauna said.

"I didn't think there would be any houses left standing."

The couple said the outpouring of support from friends and family across Alberta and the Northwest Territories has been overwhelming.

"It's unbelievable. We've had offers of places to stay from as far away as Calgary, from friends and family," Shauna said. "Everyone back home (in Fort Providence) is saying, 'Come home' - but there's two forest fires between us and them. So we don't want to make any rash decisions."

Preparing for evacuation

JJ, a Canadian Natural Resources employee, was working at a site 80 kilometres out of Fort McMurray when the community was first warned about the wildfire on May 1.

The Canadien family packed their bags that evening.

"We had two suitcases ready, grabbed some pictures ... and then all we had to do was grab our cat and a couple little things and get out," said JJ.

"There were a lot of people who weren't really prepared. They weren't expecting this to get out of control."

Still, the mandatory evacuation order would not come until May 3.

Back at work north of the city, JJ received a phone call from his young daughters around 2 p.m. the same day.

"(They said), 'Daddy - come home now.' As soon as I got that call, I hit the highway," he said.

Escaping the city

Shauna left work at 1:30 p.m. on May 3 and made the 10-minute trip to her daughters' school before making a beeline for Beacon Hill.

The family lived in a row of condos near the school. With suitcases already packed, she and the girls grabbed a few things lying around the house and took off.

"It was organized chaos, really," Shauna said.

"There was this sense of urgency, for sure. The smoke clouds were there. We could see the red, and then when I got out away from the condos and onto the main road ... I could see the flames coming."

By the time she reached the main part of Beacon Hill Drive, the trees in front of her and around her were engulfed in fire.

Burning embers and branches up to a foot long rained down on her car. In the confusion, a deer ran past, causing the vehicle in front of her to slam its breaks.

"I almost hit them. I was able to stop fast enough," Shauna said.

"I was driving over burning embers - people were starting to panic at that point because the fire was right there. The wind shifted and the fire just came so fast."

As she left Beacon Hill, JJ was heading for home. The entire drive usually took an hour but traffic was bad.

It took him an hour and a half to drive the last 10 kilometres into the city to Beacon Hill.

"I could see smoke and I could see fire, flames - I was right in the middle of the fire. There was fire on the right side of me, on the left side of me and on the highway, and I was in between there," he said.

"You could feel the flames through the window, how hot it was. It was really crazy trying to get out. I couldn't believe how crazy it was."

As he drove up toward Beacon Hill, he could see the neighbourhood on fire.

"I called my wife and I told her, 'I think our condo is on fire. I think we lost everything.' But we didn't care - as long as we had each other and we had our kids, we were all ready to go," he said.

As he was talking to Shauna on the phone, cell towers burned down and their

conversation was cut short.

"It was pretty terrifying, knowing I'm not there to help my family. We couldn't communicate at all because the towers were being burned down. And I couldn't call my wife, I couldn't text her," JJ said.

As soon as he got south of the city, he pulled over on the side of the highway and waited for Shauna and the girls.

"As soon as I saw them pass me in the northbound lane, I just jumped into my vehicle and I gunned it," JJ said. "I drove right through the ditch and ended up right behind them. After that, I was really at ease just to see them."

For Shauna, the drive out of Fort McMurray was almost as bad as the escape from Beacon Hill. Black smoke poured over the highway, obstructing her vision.

"I was in a wall of smoke. I could barely see the tail lights on the vehicle ahead of me," she said.

The presence of Gabriella and Alessandra were what kept her from panicking.

"They have been so awesome. They haven't cried. They were scared when they were going through the fire but I said, 'OK girls - now we pray.' So we just started saying the Lord's Prayer over and over again, and that helped keep us calm," Shauna said. "If I didn't have them ... I might have made some rash decisions."

Looking toward the future

With the fire behind them, Shauna and JJ said they hope to return to Fort McMurray and rebuild, although the future is still uncertain.

"If Slave Lake was able to do it, we can do it too ... if we all kind of lean on each other through all this," said Shauna.

"I'd like to say we will go back and rebuild because the community of Fort McMurray has been so good to us. Our friends in Beacon Hill, our neighbours and parents, the school and our coworkers - it's like we're a big family."

Speaking of family, Shauna said the Fort Providence fundraiser - started by Linda Croft - is "unbelievable."

"I just want to say a huge mahsi to everybody. The outpouring of help and good wishes, everybody being there for us - it's just unbelievable," she said.

"Thank you to everybody back home."

JJ, who grew up in Fort Providence, said the support from the community is something he's thankful for.

"We may have lost our place in McMurray, but Fort Providence is still home for us," he said.

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