HALIFAX -- More Maritimers have returned home safe from Fort McMurray, bringing with them stories from the unfolding wildfire crisis.
Sean Metz arrived in Halifax Thursday afternoon, although he admits he wasn’t completely sure what day it was. He says the days of travel from Northern Alberta seemed to merge into each other, but he remembers the scramble to get out.
“We all jumped in with who we could get out with, and drove to Edmonton to fly out because Fort McMurray airport was closed down,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke. Driving through Fort McMurray you could see quite a few spot fires. A lot of homes were destroyed.”
Among those destroyed was the home of Murray Teasedale’s son, who made a quick decision to leave with just the clothes on his back.
"He went back to get his stuff at the house, and the house wasn't there. Just the basement," said Teasedale.
Brenda MacEachern, who lives in New Brunswick, has a brother who lost everything in the fire, including his truck.
“He had to leave Fort McMurray in a dump truck.”
Those who arrived Thursday said they weren’t as worried about the fire as they were about the smoke, which made it hard to breathe.
“It was very smoky, twenty feet in front of you,” says oil worker Jamie Higby, who, before leaving, went back to grab his suitcase from his condo in town.
“It was pretty crazy, almost like something out of the Walking Dead. It was cars everywhere. It was unbelievable," said Jeffery Davidson, another oil worker.
However, among the stories of fear, fire and smoke, there are also stories about kindness and compassion.
Oil worker Tim Garrison says his employer looked after hundreds of families during the crisis.
“They were very well organized, bringing people in,” he said. “They gave out water, they had food, and they had shelter.”
When asked by oil patch workers how they had been treated by employers, airlines, and service providers, all said there was no predatory pricing or gouging. Some were allowed to drive company vehicles to Edmonton, and airlines charged little or nothing for flight changes. There was even one story about a gas station filling up customers for free.
While those who returned to the Maritimes remain uncertain of what will happen to their workplaces and homes out west, they say, for now, they’re thankful to have made it home safe.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw.
