SAINT JOHN -- Coast-to-coast fundraising efforts have begun in support of relief agencies on the ground in Fort McMurray, and Maritimers are opening their wallets.

Collection boxes arrived at locations across the Maritimes, including Regent Mall in Fredericton. Efforts are barely one day old, but donations are already starting to add up.

“It’s so heartbreaking,” said Megan Hamlyn, who lives in Fredericton. “Those people there, they don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t feel safe. They’re hungry, and scared.”

Nationwide, the Red Cross has collected more than $11.5 million dollars.

“You kind of get a sense for how things are going to go, and right from the get go, we knew this was going to have a higher impact, particularly among Atlantic Canadians,” said Bill Lawlor, Disaster Services with the Canadian Red Cross. “I mean, there’s not one of us who doesn’t know someone who is living, working, or has worked in Fort McMurray.”

In Cape Breton, that’s part of the reason that Meghan Farrell has started collecting clothing, personal care items, and money for fellow Maritimers who have lost everything.

“You know, they went out there to take advantage of jobs and prosperity, and to see all the work that has gone into building homes and families out there, and to know that they have less than what they left Nova Scotia with,” she said.

On Thursday, the federal government announced that Ottawa would match, dollar for dollar, all the donations that are going into the Red Cross’ Fort McMurray relief fund – a step reserved for only the most serious of natural disasters.

The Salvation Army has also launched a nation-wide appeal. The Sally Ann expects volunteers from this region will eventually being going to the hardest-hit areas.

“Without question, we’ll have to deploy folks to meet the level of care and needs of people in the Alberta region, in Fort McMurray,” said Major James Anderson, with the Salvation Army.

Similar plans are also being made by the Red Cross.

“We know this is going to be long term,” said Lawlor. “We were in Slave Lake for over two years, and this fire seems to be much greater in scope, and affected more residents, so I suspect we’ll be there for years to come.”

The Red Cross saysa true picture of the needs will only become clear after the fire is extinguished, and the extent of the damage becomes known.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.